Iran says it puts imaging satellite sucessfully into orbit amid tensions with West

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran is claiming that it has successfully put an imaging satellite into space. The state-run IRNA news agency is quoting the country’s communication minister and says the Noor-3 satellite had been put in an orbit 450 kilometers, or 280 miles, above the Earth’s surface. There was no immediate acknowledgment from Western officials of the launch or of the satellite being put into orbit. Iran has had a series of failed launches in recent years.