Iran says it launched its 1st military satellite

The launch of Noor.
(Image credit: Sepahnews via AP)

Iran on Wednesday said it successfully launched its first military satellite into orbit, on the same day President Trump tweeted that he instructed the "United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps said the satellite, called Noor, "orbited the Earth at 264 miles. This action will be a great success and a new development in the field of space for Islamic Iran." The country, which denies that its space program is trying to develop intercontinental ballistic missile technology, launched its first civilian satellite in 2009.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.