Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says domestically-manufactured rockets will carry two new satellites into orbit “in the coming weeks.”

Rouhani made the remarks during a ceremony held to commemorate the second passing anniversary of former president and chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in Tehran on Thursday.
Rouhani said, “Missiles are our defensive tool and we are proud of it,” adding, “In the coming weeks, we will send two new satellites into space using our domestically-built rockets.”

He also described Iran’s defense power and technology achievements as relics of Ayatollah Hashemi.
Last November, Deputy Defense Minister General Qassem Taqizadeh announced that Iran would launch three satellites into space “on various orbits” within a few months.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that Iran’s planned launch of space rockets and missiles breaches Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed Pompeo’s claim, saying Washington has already violated that resolution and thus cannot “lecture” Tehran on it.