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.

Trump's Wednesday morning tweet was in response to an incident that took place last Wednesday, when 11 Iranian navy boats came within 10 yards of U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf. The United States called these actions "dangerous and provocative," as well as a violation of international law.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.