Pompeo on failed Iranian satellite launch: A flagrant disregard of int’l norms

The US will not stand for Iran’s flagrant disregard of international norms, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said regarding the failed satellite launched by the Islamic republic on Tuesday.

After the launch, Pompeo repeated his allegation that Iran’s space program could help it develop a missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon to the mainland US.

“The United States is working with our allies and partners to counter the entire range of the Islamic Republic’s threats, including its missile program, which threatens Europe and the Middle East,” a statement released by the Department of State read.

The statement added that these satellites incorporate technologies that are “virtually identical and interchangeable with those used in ballistic missiles.”

The Iranian rocket carrying the Payam satellite had failed to reach the “necessary speed” in the third stage of its launch, Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi told Iranian state television.

Jahromi said the rocket had successfully passed its first and second stages before developing problems in the third. He did not elaborate on what caused the rocket failure, but promised that Iranian scientists would continue their work.

Iran has said it plans to send two satellites, Payam and Doosti, into the orbit. Payam means “message” in Farsi, while Doosti means “friendship.”