TEHRAN: Iran said it had put a dummy satellite into orbit on a homegrown rocket for the first time yesterday — a move likely to increase Western concerns about its nuclear ambitions.
The ballistic technology used to put satellites into space can also be used for launching weapons, although Iran says it has no plans to do so.
“The Safir (Ambassador) satellite carrier was launched today and for the first time we successfully launched a dummy satellite into orbit,” Reza Taghizadeh, head of the Iranian Aerospace Organization, told state television.
Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over Tehran’s disputed nuclear ambitions, caused international concern in February by testing another domestically made rocket as part of its satellite program, the Explorer 1.
The West accuses Iran of trying to obtain nuclear arms under cover of a civilian program. Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, insists it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was present at Iran’s space center and read out the launch countdown, state television reported. “The president congratulated the Iranian nation on the great achievement,” it said.
Iranian television showed the rocket on its desert launch pad, but did not show the actual lift-off. Few details were available about the rocket or its payload.
Washington has accused Iran of trying to equip its missiles with nuclear warheads. Iran has missiles that can reach 2,500 km, meaning it could hit Israel or US military bases in the Gulf.
Also yesterday, state TV quoted air force chief Gen. Ahmad Mighani as saying Iranian warplanes can now fly as far as Israel and back without refueling.
Israel is about 1,000 km from Iran. Such a range could be achieved by using external fuel tanks attached to the wings or fuselage that can be released when empty.
Missile defense
The Israeli daily Haaretz, meanwhile, quoted a spokesman for the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency (MDA) as saying that the United States and Israel have agreed on the deployment of high-powered, early-warning missile radars in the Negev desert to face an Iranian attack.
The radars, known as X-Band, will be manned by US military personnel and linked to a US satellite-based alert network. The new system could double or even triple the missiles’ range of identification, which would be particularly useful should Iran launch an attack on Israel.
