Tehran, 30 December 2021 (dpa/MIA) – Iran on Thursday said it has successfully launched satellites into space. The Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket transported satellite research instruments to a height of 470 kilometres, a spokesperson for the Defence Ministry said. Spokesman Ahmad Husseini hailed the launch as a great achievement for the Islamic republic, according to the IRNA news agency. Further details on the mission were not given. According to the Iranian government, the satellites will gather data on weather, natural disasters and agriculture. They do not serve a military purpose and therefore do not contravene international agreements, Tehran has said. Nonetheless, the United States and Israel have been critical of the Iranian satellite programme. They fear that Iran could use space technology to build long-range military missiles.