IRGC Claims to Have Placed 'Chamran 1' Satellite in 550 km Orbit

On Saturday, September 15, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that it has placed the 'Chamran 1' satellite into a 550 km orbit using the 'Qaem 100' launch vehicle. Hossein Salami, the IRGC commander, in a letter to Aziz Nasirzadeh, the Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, and Sattar Hashemi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, referred to this action as a result of cooperation between the government and the IRGC, without mentioning the economic consequences of international sanctions against Iran's missile program. According to Reuters, the United States and its European allies believe that the long-range ballistic technology used to launch satellites into orbit enables the Iranian government to launch long-range weapons, including nuclear warheads. Reports indicate that this latest missile adventure by the IRGC follows the delivery of hundreds of ballistic missiles from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia. Although Tehran and Moscow deny this, the U.S. and the European Union have strongly condemned this action by the Iranian government and imposed further sanctions on Iranian entities and individuals involved in expanding military relations between Iran and Russia. Iranian state media claimed that the first signals from the 60 kg 'Chamran 1' satellite were received after it was placed in a 550 km orbit. On January 19, the IRGC had claimed that it successfully placed the 'Soraya' satellite in a 750 km orbit, which was condemned by the European Troika. Additionally, just one day after the European Troika condemned this action by the IRGC, Iranian state media reported the launch of one satellite and two microsatellites. Despite extensive secrecy in its nuclear program, refusal to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and equipping its proxy groups with various missiles and drones, the Islamic Republic claims that its missile, drone, and nuclear activities are peaceful. The delivery of hundreds of Iranian 'Fateh 360' missiles to Russia has been described by the U.S. as a 'very destabilizing' development. The Iranian chargé d'affaires in Paris was summoned in response to the delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia, and the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned 20 individuals, entities, and vessels in Iran and Russia.