ballistic missiles

Iran says it successfully launched three satellites into space with a rocket that had multiple failures in the past, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehran's ballistic missiles.

As anti-China protests continued in Hong Kong, a parade in Beijing showcased stealth fighter jets and new ballistic missiles.

The Pentagon says it tested a modified cruise missile that flew "more than 500 kilometers" — a distance prohibited under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty scrapped earlier this month.

The technology, described as a "large-scale optical tracking and measurement system," is reportedly for use in testing Pakistani ballistic missiles that can carry multiple warheads.

"When it comes to defending our country, we will ask nobody for their permission," President Hassan Rouhani said. The missile has a reported range of 1,243 miles.

Since the 2015 international agreement to curb Iran's nuclear capabilities in exchange for lifting some sanctions, the U.S. and Iran have argued over what exactly it says about ballistic missiles.

Many independent arms control experts suspect that North Korea will test a missile capable of reaching the continental U.S. later this year. There may not be much the U.S. can do about it.

One of the two midrange ballistic missiles launched Wednesday appears to be the most successful test yet.