The head of the US Space Command said the Pentagon believes that Iran's first successful launch of a military satellite into space does not pose any intelligence threat.
The Noor satellite placed into orbit on April 22 is classified by the US military as a small 3U Cubesat, three adjoined units each no more than a litre in volume and less than 1.3 kilogrammes each, said General Jay Raymond in a tweet late Sunday.
"Iran states it has imaging capabilities - actually, it's a tumbling webcam in space; unlikely providing intel," he wrote in a now-deleted tweet.
"#Spaceishard," Gen Raymond added to the tweet.
Using a mobile launcher at a new launch site, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it put the "Noor," or “Light,” satellite into a low orbit circling the Earth after four failed attempts to launch a satellite between 2018 and 2020.
Iranian state TV late Wednesday showed footage of what it said was the satellite and said it had orbited the earth within 90 minutes. It said the satellite’s signals were being received.
The three-stage satellite launch took off from Iran’s Central Desert, the Guard said, using a messenger satellite carrier to put the device into space, a previously unheard-of system.
US officials have said they fear long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also be used to launch nuclear warheads. Tehran denies the claim.
Last week US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of violating a 2015 UN Security Council resolution against Tehran advancing any nuclear-capable ballistic missile activities.
On Saturday, Pompeo called for the United Nations to extend its conventional arms embargo on Iran beyond its scheduled end in October.
"All peace-loving nations must reject Iran's development of ballistic-missile-capable technologies and join together to constrain Iran's dangerous missile programs," he said.
