Iran said it had successfully launched a rocket into space on Sunday that is capable of carrying a satellite, a move that could further exacerbate tensions with the West over its nuclear drive. A top Iranian official told AFP that only a rocket had been launched, correcting earlier reports by state media that the country's first domestically-built satellite had been sent into orbit.
It was not immediately clear if the rocket, called Safir or Ambassador, was nevertheless carrying the satellite Omid (Hope), which officials had said earlier this year would be launched in the summer. A defence ministry statement carried by the official news agency IRNA said that the rocket, "built by Iranian experts" was launched in the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"The second launch of the Safir rocket carrying the first satellite Omid was conducted successfully," the statement said. Sunday's launch comes amid a stand-off between Iran and the international community over Tehran's refusal to suspend sensitive nuclear work - which some Western countries fear could be used to make an atomic bomb.
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