Iran’s satellite launch sparks fears of covert nuclear programme

IRAN has successfully sent its first domestically-made satellite into orbit, the country’s president announced yesterday, claiming a significant step in an ambitious space programme that has worried international observers.

The satellite — called Omid, or hope in Farsi — was launched late on Monday after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave the order to proceed, according to a report on state radio. State television showed footage of what it said was the night-time lift-off of the rocket carrying the satellite at an unidentified location in Iran.

A senior US defence official in Washington said the US military detected the launch of a missile into space. But it was not confirmed whether the missile was carrying a satellite, said the official.