Iran launches rocket in latest step toward putting military satellites in orbit

Iran announced Thursday that the country had successfully launched into space one of its "Simorgh" rockets capable of putting 250-kg satellites into orbit. No other details were given.
DEBKAfile: The Simorgh, also called the Safir-2, is a ballistic missile that the Iranians have been developing for years with an aim of launching satellites and developing their technology for mounting small nuclear warheads on missiles and launching them. Many previous tests of the missile failed.  
If the launch was indeed successful, it might indicate a big step forward in Iran's development of those technologies and in its attempts to place military satellites in space.