By Pishtaz | 2023-09-29

As the Islamic Republic was basking in the glow of what it described as the successful launch of the Noor-3 satellite into orbit on Wednesday (September 27), a military warehouse caught on fire for the second time in less than a week.

Iran on Wednesday claimed it had successfully launched an imaging satellite into space, the third in the series of "Noor" satellites, the first two of which were launched in 2020 and 2022.

The location of the launch was not revealed.

The satellite was launched by the three-stage "Qased" rocket, Iranian news outlets said, same as Noor-2.

Communications Minister Issa Zarepour said Noor-3 -- a military satellite manufactured by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) -- orbits at an altitude of 450km above the Earth's surface.

Hardline and IRGC-affiliated media described the launch as "victorious, and rooted in IRGC principles."

The ultra-hardline Kayhan daily, close to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, quoted senior IRGC officials as saying the satellite has "optical and signal-gathering missions."

The US Department of State on Thursday expressed concern about Iran's new satellite launch and its space launch vehicle programs.

"We have long made clear our concerns about Iran's space launch vehicle programs that they provide a pathway to expand its longer range missile systems," Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said in the daily press briefing.

"Space launch vehicles incorporate technologies virtually identical and interchangeable with those used in ballistic missiles."

Miller added that Iran's continued advancement of its ballistic missile capabilities "poses a serious threat to regional and international security and remains a significant nonproliferation concern."

"We continue to use a variety of nonproliferation tools, including sanctions, to counter further advancement of Iran's ballistic missile program and its ability to proliferate missiles and related technology to others," he said.

'No meaningful advancement'

On Thursday, a day after the satellite launch, a defense ministry warehouse in northeastern Tehran caught on fire. Smoke billowed over a large area of the city for a long time, residents said.

Only six days earlier, the same 2,000-square-meter building had caught on fire.

At the time, the ministry announced the fire had been extinguished and that "thankfully, there were no casualties."

Officials have kept mum about the cause of the first fire, or the resulting damage. But they claim that it had indirectly caused the second fire, which they say was due to the cleanup of debris from the first fire.

As the public grapples with incompetent governance and a suffocating economic crisis, a pricey satellite launch is not receiving the support the government was hoping for.

"We don't have enough operational airplanes for commercial use, but we are expected to be proud that we have launched a satellite after several unsuccessful attempts," an aerospace university professor told Pishtaz.

"The government and the IRGC waste the public's money on failed satellite launches and nuclear activities," said the professor, who did not wish to be named.

"They spend money in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. But taxpayers are not a priority for them," he added.

"People don't have enough public transportation, even in major cities in Iran. If anything, we've moved backward rather than making progress," he said.

"Why would a country with insufficient modes of transportation need a satellite or an active nuclear reactor?"

"With these satellite launches, the IRGC intends to boast superiority and advanced technology," he continued. "But anyone with some inside knowledge knows there is no meaningful advancement; that is why previous satellite launches failed amid grave technical difficulties."

'No lunch or dinner'

"There are seven sets of pots and pans, but no lunch or dinner," an old Persian adage says. Some observers believe this speaks to Iran's current state today.

The regime ignores the public's basic needs and demands, and complains about sanctions that exist as a consequence of its own actions, they say.

Meanwhile, it raves about its space and nuclear programs, which receive major budget allocations each fiscal year, taking money away from the people while providing them with no tangible benefit.

Although Iran has one of the largest missile programs in the Middle East, it has suffered a string of failed satellite launches in recent years.

"The program has for years suffered from lack of precise coordination, as well as dated hardware and incapable leadership, although the IRGC has never admitted it," an Iran-based military analyst told Pishtaz.

"Despite the large amounts of money the regime continues to allocate to it, deep-seated problems remain within the program," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The regime's interventional and expansionist policies in the region and beyond have resulted in the country being isolated and sanctioned," he said.

It is therefore unable to replace much of its dated or malfunctioning equipment in the military and even for civilian use, like in airliners, he said.

"The government claims it does not have enough money to pay its own employees and retirees decent salaries that could -- at least to some extent -- keep up with the high inflation rate," he added.

"But it somehow is able to afford lavish spending on a major satellite program."

Domestic media outlets estimate that at least 50%, and as many as 70%, of Iranians live below the poverty line.