Tehran  - Iran launched into orbit its first domestically produced satellite Tuesday morning, the official news agency IRNA reported.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered the launching of the satellite called Omid, or Hope, on a domestically produced Safir 2 rocket, IRNA said.

The launch, also shown on Iranian state television, was made on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Safir was twice test-fired last year and hailed by Tehran as major progress in Iran's aerospace technology despite international financial sanctions over its nuclear programmes. (dpa)