Iran on Wednesday rejected criticism from Britain after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard launched an imaging satellite into orbit, AFP reported.

On September 27, Iran announced that the Revolutionary Guards, its ideological army, had placed the Nour-3 imaging satellite into an orbit 450 km above Earth.

The launch is a “precious success,” said the head of the Guards, Gen. Hossein Salami. According to him, the satellite images will “supplement the intelligence needs of the Guardians.”

Iran maintains that its aerospace activities are peaceful and comply with UN Security Council resolutions. But Western governments fear that its satellite launch systems contain technology that is interchangeable with that used in ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

Britain criticized Iran’s move on Tuesday, saying it came “despite repeated calls from the UN Security Council to halt its ballistic missile programme”.

“Iran’s actions once again demonstrate its disregard for international sanctions and highlight the serious threat the regime poses to global security,” the British statement said.