> This sounded initially ominous as the IRGC is a declared terrorist organization in many western countries and this mission successfully entered orbit.
Looking this up we find.
> The IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by the governments of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United States
Well they did say many. How many? One? Is the Middle East part of the West now? Or only allies of the West? I actually don’t even know how to answer that question but I do see your point.
As the risk of getting political, Iran (its leadership) is one of a handful of countries that openly and repeatedly calls for the literal "annihilation" of another country.
Ah, yes. One of the most escalating potential topics there is.
So is it already risky, to say, that most statements, "calling for annihiliation" of israel, are not so drastic, when looked upon closer?
So, for example the famous quote from former president Ahmadinejad, about wiping israel off the map:
"
Ahmadinejad was quoting the Ayatollah Khomeini in the specific speech under discussion: what he said was that "the occupation regime over Jerusalem should vanish from the page of time." No state action is envisaged in this lament; it denotes a spiritual wish, whereas the erroneous translation – "wipe Israel off the map" – suggests a military threat. There is a huge chasm between the correct and the incorrect translations. The notion that Iran can "wipe out" U.S.-backed, nuclear-armed Israel is ludicrous."
That still leaves plenty of other statements, though and support of hamas, etc. who are less diplomatic in their words, but on the other side, you have lots of direct war threats from US and Israel, too, who are indeed nuclear armed. So who started it?
Complicated of course. And I don't really have much sympathy for the mullahs, but the iranian people I met, were nice ones. And I doubt collective punishments from the outside, like the ban on space tech, are helping them get rid of the idiots. It just brings them closer together.
Both are Sunni monarchies, the House of Saud and the House of Khalifa. Both are oil and gas economies. Both are geopolitical rivals of Iran. Both have US military presences.
The designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization is probably for the purposes of levying sanctions – this is undoubtedly because Iran opposes the US's strategic interests in the region such as its support of (and alliance with) Israel, Turkey‡, and Saudi Arabia.
> Iran’s new military satellite, NOUR 01, most interesting fact may not be that it resembles a college engineering experiment but rather that it may have a connection to a Mexican military payload launched quietly from New Zealand last year.
Arguably the most interesting fact about Noor (this is the spelling that Wikipedia uses† it's Farsi for 'light') is that with the launch Iran became one of a handful of nations that has placed military tech into space with its own launch platform.
“While a number of countries have built satellites, as of 2019, eleven countries have had the capability to send objects into orbit using their own launch vehicles.” (Iran is listed as the 9th such country to do so.)
This implications of this launcher technology should be obvious to anyone.
Well they may for political reason, but for Israel military I guess they do not care. Terrorism, (il)legitimate war, occupation, etc. incoming and outgoing directions are just tactical concepts to them.
Looking this up we find.
> The IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by the governments of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United States
Really seriously?