Troubling Report: Iran Tests Terrifying New Rocket 'Qased'
Iran has tested its Qased satellite launcher for the first time since the war with Israel, raising Western concerns over its ICBM potential and the IRGC’s growing role in military space technology.
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Iran has conducted a new test of its “Qased” satellite launcher, a three-stage rocket developed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), marking its first such test since the recent war with Israel ended. The announcement, reported by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, comes weeks after Israel’s Air Force targeted Iran’s missile production sites during “Operation Rising Lion” in June 2025, aiming to degrade its ballistic missile capabilities.
The test, conducted today (Monday), was a suborbital flight designed to trial “new technologies” in Iran’s space program, not to place a satellite in orbit, according to state media. The Qased, first launched in 2020, has previously delivered satellites like Noor-2 and Noor-3 into low Earth orbit, drawing scrutiny from Western nations. Experts warn that the technology used in satellite launchers like Qased is nearly identical to that of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), raising fears that Iran is covertly advancing its long-range missile capabilities.
The U.S. and other Western governments have long expressed alarm over Iran’s space program, citing its potential to accelerate ICBM development. A 2024 U.S. intelligence report noted that Iran’s space launch vehicles, including Qased, could shorten the timeline for producing an ICBM, though significant modifications would be needed. Iran insists its space program is for civilian purposes, but its operation by the IRGC, a designated terrorist organization, fuels skepticism.
Despite Israel’s recent strikes, which it claims destroyed a third of Iran’s long-range missile launchers, Iran asserts it retains significant launch capabilities.