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Iran’s IRGC Put Noor 2 Satellite in Orbit

FILE: A handout picture released by Iran's Defense Ministry on December 30, 2021 shows a Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite rocket lifting off during its launch at an undisclosed location in Iran. (AFP Photos)
FILE: A handout picture released by Iran's Defense Ministry on December 30, 2021 shows a Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite rocket lifting off during its launch at an undisclosed location in Iran. (AFP Photos)
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Iran’s IRGC Put Noor 2 Satellite in Orbit

FILE: A handout picture released by Iran's Defense Ministry on December 30, 2021 shows a Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite rocket lifting off during its launch at an undisclosed location in Iran. (AFP Photos)
FILE: A handout picture released by Iran's Defense Ministry on December 30, 2021 shows a Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite rocket lifting off during its launch at an undisclosed location in Iran. (AFP Photos)

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has successfully put a second military satellite, the Noor 2, into orbit, the semi-official news agency Tasnim said on Tuesday.

Noor 2 is orbiting at an altitude of 500 kilometers (311 miles). The first military satellite, launched by the Islamic Republic in April 2020, placed the Noor, or “light” in Persian, at an orbit of 425km (265 miles) above the earth’s surface.

Putting a second satellite in space would be a major advance for Iran’s military, raising concerns about the country's nuclear and missile programs, according to Reuters.

The US military says the same long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also allow Tehran to launch longer-range weapons, possibly including nuclear warheads.

“The IRGC successfully placed Iran’s second military satellite, Noor 2, into orbit 500 kilometers from earth,” Tasnim said.

The three-stage Qased, or “Messenger,” carrier launched the Noor 2, from the Shahroud space port, it added.

The same type of rockets, which use a combination of liquid and solid fuels, carried the first military satellite.

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Türkiye Says 5 Soldiers Killed by Methane Gas during Cave Search in Northern Iraq

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)
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Türkiye Says 5 Soldiers Killed by Methane Gas during Cave Search in Northern Iraq

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)

Five Turkish soldiers have died after exposure to methane gas on Sunday while searching a cave in northern Iraq for the remains of a fellow soldier killed by Kurdish militants in 2022, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

Soldiers were searching a mountain cave when 19 of them were exposed to the gas, which is colorless, odorless, flammable and can cause asphyxiation in sufficient concentration.

“They were immediately transported to the hospital (but) despite all interventions, five heroic personnel were martyred,” the ministry said in a statement, The AP news reported. “Rescue operations in the area continue.”

The ministry did not give a specific location for the incident other than the “Claw-Lock Operation region,” a reference to an operation launched against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in north Iraq in April 2022.

The Turkish unit affected by methane gas was searching for the remains of an infantry officer killed by “terrorist gunfire” during a search-and-clear operation in May 2022, the ministry said. For the last three years, teams have been hunting for his remains.

The cave was at an altitude of 852 meters (2,795 foot) and was known to have been used as a hospital by the PKK in the past, although it had since been cleared by Turkish soldiers.

The office of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the soldiers were “exposed to a high concentration of accumulated methane gas.”

Türkiye and the PKK have waged a 40-year conflict which has often spilled over into Iraq and Syria. Türkiye has set up a series of bases in northern Iraq, where the PKK has been established for decades.

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Türkiye and most of the West, announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Türkiye.

Its fighters are expected to begin handing over their weapons over the next few days in the first concrete move toward disarmament.