Iran launches 3 satellites into space that are part of a Western-criticized program as tensions rise

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran says it has successfully launched three satellites into space, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehran’s ballistic missiles. The state-run IRNA news agency reported Sunday that the launch also saw the successful use of Iran’s Simorgh rocket, which has had multiple failures in the past. The United States has previously said Iran’s satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. U.N. sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired last October.