Iran says it has successfully put an imaging satellite into orbit amid tensions with West

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran is claiming that it has successfully put an imaging satellite into space. The state-run IRNA news agency is quoting the country’s communication minister and says the Noor-3 satellite had been put in an orbit 450 kilometers, or 280 miles, above the Earth’s surface. There was no immediate acknowledgment from Western officials of the launch or of the satellite being put into orbit. Iran has had a series of failed launches in recent years. The United States has alleged that Iran’s satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution and has called on Tehran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.