In this photo released April 22, 2020, by Sepahnews, an Iranian rocket carrying a satellite is launched from an undisclosed site believed to be in Iran's Semnan province. (SEPAHNEWS VIA AP)

DUBAI — Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Wednesday it had successfully launched the country’s first military satellite into orbit, at a time of heightened tensions with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs.

Iran’s first military satellite, Noor, was launched this morning from central Iran in two stages. The launch was successful and the satellite reached orbit

 Iran's state TV

US officials have said they fear long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also be used to launch nuclear warheads. Tehran denies US assertions that such activity is a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.

“Iran’s first military satellite, Noor, was launched this morning from the central desert of Iran. The launch was successful and the satellite reached orbit,” state TV said.

The satellite, whose name Noor means “Light”, was orbiting 425 km above the earth’s surface, they said in a statement on their website.

The force said it used the Qased, or “Messenger”, satellite carrier to launch Noor, without giving details of the technology.

“The three-stage Qased satellite launcher uses a combination of solid and liquid fuels,” it said.

ALSO READ: Iran launches missile, fails to put satellite into orbit

Regional tensions have been high since the start of the year.

“I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” US President Donald Trump wrote in a tweet, hours after Tehran’s announcement of the satellite launch

In the latest sabre-rattling, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had instructed the US Navy to fire on Iranian ships if harassed, a week after the United States said 11 vessels from the Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came dangerously close to US vessels in the Gulf.

“I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” Trump wrote in a tweet, hours after Tehran’s announcement of the satellite launch.

In resonse, an Iranian armed forces spokesman said the United States should focus on saving its military from the coronavirus.

“Today, instead of bullying others, the Americans should put all their efforts toward saving those members of their forces who are infected with coronavirus,” Abolfazl Shekarchi said, according to the ISNA news agency.

In early January, top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad. Iran retaliated on Jan 9 by firing missiles at bases in Iraq where US troops were stationed.

READ MORE: Iran to launch satellite; US says program linked to missiles

NUCLEAR DEAL

The Trump administration reimposed sanctions on Iran following Washington’s 2018 withdrawal from a 2015 international accord designed to put curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump said the nuclear deal did not go far enough and also did not include restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for its proxies in the Middle East.

Israel, which Tehran refuses to recognize, called on the international community to condemn Iran’s satellite launch.

“Israel calls upon the international community ... to impose further sanctions on the Iranian regime. All in order to deter it from continuing such dangerous and opposing activity,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Despite the launch, analysts said Tehran and Washington would not seek a conventional war.

“This is psychological warfare to send a message and tell the adversary that ‘we are ready to stop any offensive’,” Hisham Jaber, a retired Lebanese army brigadier general and analyst, told Reuters.

“Iran is using this policy as a deterrence. But the result: No effect on the ground. No dramatic effect... Nobody is ready to handle any consequences of war, not America, not Iran or anyone.”

The United States argues that such launches by Iran breach United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which calls upon Tehran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

The resolution, which endorsed the nuclear pact between Iran and six major powers, stops short of explicitly barring such activity. Iran says its space program is peaceful.

Iran’s Guards, which report to the country’s top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have repeatedly warned that US regional bases and its aircraft carriers in the Gulf are within the range of Iranian missiles.