Tehran has successfully completed a space rocket launch

Iran has successfully completed a rocket launcher that can transfer satellites to orbit, state television reported, in a move likely to escalate tensions with the US because of its potential use for Tehran's ballistic program.

Washington argues that Tehran fails the terms of a United Nations resolution calling on Iran not to engage in any ballistic missile activity designed to carry nuclear weapons.

"The Homeini Space Center officially launched its operation with the successful launch of the space rocket simorgh (Phoenix)," state television reported.

"The Simorgh missile has the ability to carry satellites weighing up to 250kg in a 500km orbit," he said.

Earlier this month, the US imposed new economic sanctions on Iran on the ballistic missile program, noting that Tehran's "malicious activities" in the Middle East have undermined any "positive contribution" to the 2015 agreement to curb its nuclear program.