Iran said yesterday it was ready to help fellow Muslim states launch satellites into orbit after it successfully put a dummy satellite into orbit ? a move that may increase Western suspicions over its atomic ambitions.

Iran said on Sunday it had put the home-grown dummy satellite into orbit on a domestically made rocket for the first time. The long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into space can also be used for launching weapons.

Iran says it has no intention to do so. Head of Iran?s Aerospace Organisation, Reza Taghipour, said Iran wanted to help Muslim countries to launch satellites. ?I am announcing now that Iran is ready to launch satellites of friendly Islamic countries into space,? Taghipour told state television.

Embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions, Iran in February tested another domestically made rocket as part of its satellite programme. Washington, accusing Iran of aiming to equip missiles with nuclear warheads, called the February test ?unfortunate?. It cites Iran?s missile potential, among others, as the reason why it needs to install an anti-missile defence system in eastern Europe. France and Russia both said the February test raised the suspicion that Iran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The United states and its European allies fear Iran is trying to obtain nuclear arms under cover of a civilian programme. Iran, the world?s fourth largest oil producer, insists it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.

The UN nuclear watchdog body in a report in May expressed ?serious concern? over alleged Iranian research into nuclear warheads and said Iran should provide more explanation of questionable missile-related activities.