Iran said on Monday it had successfully launched a space launch - the latest in a program the West says is aimed at improving Tehran's ballistic missile program, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
Tehran said it had launched a satellite-carrying rocket called the Simurgh - a program that has suffered a series of setbacks. The rocket was launched from the Imam Khomeini Cosmodrome in Semnan province.
There has been no independent confirmation of Iran's statement, the AP noted.
Iranian authorities announced the launch amid heightened tensions in the Middle East over Israel's ongoing war with “Hamas“ in the Gaza Strip and the difficult ceasefire agreement in Lebanon.