TEHRAN (AP) — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says it has launched a military satellite into orbit amid wider tensions with the U.S.


The Guard made the announcement on Wednesday morning on its official website.


The Guard said the two-stage satellite launch took off from Iran’s Central Desert, without elaborating.


It called the launch “a great achievement.”


The launch comes amid tensions between Tehran and Washington over its collapsing nuclear deal and after a U.S. drone strike killed Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January.


Iran has suffered several failed satellite launches in recent months.