Israel Launches New Spy Satellite into Space

Tel Aviv, MINA – Israel launched a new spy satellite into space on Tuesday (July 7). The satellite launch follows a series of mysterious incidents that occurred in Iran, including one incident related to Israel even though no country has confirmed the incident.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the satellite, named Ofek 16 is one of the many Israeli satellites.

Ofek 16 Satellite will assist with its ability to act against a country categorized as Israel’s enemies, both near and far.

“This greatly expands our ability to act on land, at sea, in the air and also in space,” Netanyahu said, as quoted by Al-Monitor from The Associated Press.

Spy satellites launched by Israel remember the possibility of an attack in Iran in the past two weeks. There was a fire at Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment plant last week.

Then, there was an explosion on June 26 near a military facility east of the capital Tehran. On June 28, a gas explosion in Tehran killed 19 people.

Iran initially downplayed the Natanz incident but later admitted that the centrifuges at the secret facility were damaged. Neither Israel nor Iran made statements about responsibility for the fires in Natanz.

Israel openly opposes Iran’s nuclear program because it is considered aiming to provide nuclear weapons to the Islamic Republic. But the accusation was denied by Iran.

On the other hand, Iran also has satellite capabilities. In April, Tehran launched its first military satellite into orbit.

While in the New York Times report, it was mentioned that the Natanz incident was an explosion triggered by a bomb and Israel was responsible for the incident.

The statement quoted an unknown Middle Eastern intelligence official. It has also been speculation in Arabic-language media that Israel attacked the facility. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)