In a context of persistent tensions with Washington despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Revolutionary Guards – the ideological army of the Islamic Republic of Iran – announced on Wednesday April 22 the successful launch of the military satellite Nour (" light "in Persian). State television broadcast images of what it claimed to be the rocket-mounted satellite at the time of launch. The satellite has "Orbited around the Earth at 425 km" and was presented as a "New development in space for Islamic Iran".
On February 9, Iran failed to launch a scientific observation satellite called Zafar ("victory" in Persian). Its launch had been condemned by Paris and Washington, which had accused Tehran of wanting to strengthen its skills in the field of ballistic missiles through the launch of satellites. The United States had also qualified the firing, in January 2019 by Tehran, of a rocket responsible for the launch of a satellite of " provocation " violating Security Council resolution 2231 of the United Nations (UN).
This resolution enjoins Tehran to "Not to carry out any activity linked to ballistic missiles designed to be able to carry nuclear charges, including fire using ballistic missile technology".
Washington threats
US fears ballistic missiles may be armed with nuclear warheads, US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo said Iran should " accountable " after this launch which is " opposite " to United Nations resolutions.
This launch is just one "Façade for Iran's development of advanced ballistic technologies", quickly denounced in a statement Israel.
For his part, Donald Trump, the American president, announced that he had given the order to destroy any Iranian boat which would approach in a dangerous way American ships in the Gulf. A week ago, the Pentagon accused Tehran of "Dangerous maneuvers" at sea.
Almost two years of tension
Tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic have intensified markedly since Washington decided in May 2018 to unilaterally denounce the international Iranian nuclear agreement (concluded in 2015) and to restore punitive economic sanctions against Tehran. They peaked after the elimination of Iranian General Ghassem Soleimani, who was killed in an American drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, on January 3.
US sanctions are weighing on the Iranian oil sector, but also, according to Tehran, on its ability to cope with the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, by restricting its ability to borrow on the international market.
On paper, humanitarian goods (medicines, medical equipment in particular) escape sanctions but, in reality, international banks prefer to refuse a transaction involving Iran, whatever the product concerned, rather than run the risk of expose to American retaliation.
Tehran announced in March that it had asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an emergency line of credit for up to about $ 5 billion. But Washington has announced that it has no plans to authorize such a loan, accusing Tehran of using its resources to finance "Terrorism abroad".
Iran has officially registered nearly 5,400 Covid-19 deaths and about 86,000 cases of contamination, the heaviest toll in the Middle East. Some, both abroad and within the country, estimate that these figures are underestimated, evoking four to five times more deaths.
