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Iran

After Blows to Proxies, Iran Advances Huge Space Program with Russian Assistance

Iran is reportedly building a major spaceport as part of an effort to maintain its regional status following major blows to its proxies across the Middle East. American media detailed the Islamic Republic’s plans to build the facility, likened to Florida’s Cape Canaveral, in Chabahar, a launch site close to the equator, making it more efficient for launches.

The site, which was supposed to open last year, will contain a 54-square-mile complex, allowing Iran to launch powerful spacecraft into orbit, the report said on Friday, April 18. The program has reportedly raised concerns among Western nations — particularly the US and Israel — that Iranian space technology could be used to advance the country’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities.

“Iran’s work on space-launch vehicles — including its two-stage, liquid-fueled Simorgh satellite carrier rocket — likely shortens the timeline to produce an ICBM due to the similarities in technology,” Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of US Strategic Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month.

One of the program’s reported aims is to send to space 20 internet satellites named after Qassem Soleimani, the IRGC Quds Force commander killed by a US drone in 2020. With more satellites, Iran could better guide its long-range weapons, according to the report. 

The report did not provide precise figures regarding the costs of the program, though a senior Iranian official reportedly said last November that approximately $11 million would be provided to Iran’s space agency, despite the sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy. (TOI/VFI News)

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