From Reuters, June 11:

Israel launched a new spy satellite on Monday and said it would provide high-quality surveillance over enemies such as Syria and Iran, rivalling the capabilities of the United States.

Rocketed into orbit from a coastal Israeli air base, the Ofek 7 was expected to begin relaying high-resolution ground photographs from an altitude of 200-500 km (125-315 miles) by the end of the week. "The successful launch adds an important layer to Israel's defence capabilities and it is a testament to Israel's technological strength," Defence Minister Amir Peretz said in a statement.

Haim Eshed, head of the Defence Ministry's space directorate, told Army Radio that Ofek 7 would help Israel "deal with the Iranian issue". Iran's nuclear programme has raised fears in the West, though Tehran denies it wants nuclear bombs.

Israel is also monitoring neighbouring Syria for signs of a military build-up following last year's war against the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group, an ally of Damascus.

The Ofek 7 was produced by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) under pressure to replace the Ofek 6, which was lost in a 2004 launch malfunction. The previous satellite in the series, Ofek 5, has been in orbit since 2002 and will soon be out of commission.

Aviation Week noted on March 5:

On Feb. 25, Iran used a large ballistic missile to fire a research payload into space in a sounding rocket test that intelligence analysts expect will be followed by more ambitious Iranian satellite launch attempts.