Iran puts dummy satellite in orbit

Iran said it had put a dummy satellite into orbit on a home-grown rocket for the first time on Sunday - a move likely to increase Western concerns about its nuclear ambitions.

The long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into space can also be used for launching weapons, although Iran says it has no plans to do so.

"The Safir (Ambassador) satellite carrier was launched today and for the first time we successfully launched a dummy satellite into orbit," Reza Taghizadeh, head of the Iranian Aerospace Organization, told state television on Sunday.