�MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd June, 2021) Pentagon officials speaking with CNN said that Iran unsuccessfully tried to launch a new satellite into space in mid-June.
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Uriah Orland told CNN that the "U.S. Space Command is aware of the Iranian rocket launch failure which occurred early June 12th." The officials also said that the reasons as to why the launch was a failure and at what stage were unclear.
This is reportedly the fourth consecutive failure of the Simorgh rocket, a vehicle which is using engines based on North Korean design.
Experts at the Middlebury Institute of International Affairs at Monterey analyzed satellite photos taken on June 20 of fuel containers, support vehicles and a mobile platform at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport and said that this was a key indicator that Iran is planning a new launch in the coming days or weeks.
Critics of the Islamic republic view the launch of satellites as a provocation as Tehran and Washington are in the middle of negotiations concerning the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as well as the probable easing of sanctions against Iran. In addition, the Middle East nation is using technology similar to that required for intercontinental ballistic missiles.
In May, IRNA news agency reported that Iran was planning to launch several satellites into orbit in the near future.
