Iran Satellite Launch Raises "Israel", US, West Concerns
Source: Al-Manar TV, 04-02-2004
After announcing its entry to the international nuclear club, Iran proves again it's willingness to enter the history of science and technology. Omid (Persian for "Hope") was another success added to the accomplishments of Iranian aerospace experts timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the victory of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The successfully launch of Iran's first domestically produced satellite into orbit using an Iranian-made long-distance missile allowed the Islamic Republic to join an exclusive club of fewer than a dozen nations with such capabilities.
The state news agency IRNA said the satellite would take orbital measurements and would circle the Earth 15 times every 24 hours.
The Iranian launch was debated by military and intelligence analysts and arms control experts. The US and the West believe Iran's government is developing the capacity to build and deliver nuclear weapons, but Iran says its programs are peaceful.
US, BRITAIN AND FRANCE CONCERNED
In Washington, official reaction was relatively subdued as the Obama administration prepared for its first round of talks with European partners on how to deal with Iran and its weapons programs.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs referred to the Iranian achievement only briefly at the daily news briefings, saying Iranian efforts to develop advanced missile capabilities were a matter of "acute concern."
"The president is clear that he wants Iran to be a responsible member of the world community," Gibbs said. Tehran's pursuit of missile technology "does not convince us that Iran is acting responsibly to advance stability or security in the region," he said.
"That's of grave concern to us," State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters of the satellite.
British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said the launch "underlines and illustrates our serious concerns about Iran's intentions," adding that the Islamic Republic has sent the "wrong signal to the international community."
In its first reaction, France expressed concern because the technology used saying it was "very similar" to that employed in ballistic missiles. "We can't but link this to the very serious concerns about the development of military nuclear capacity," foreign ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier said in Paris.
"ISRAEL", OF COURSE, REACTS
"Israel" also took part in the wave of reactions. "Iran's launch of a satellite on Tuesday demonstrates a new and advanced capability that allows Teheran to fire ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads all the way to Western Europe", said Maj.-Gen. (res.) Isaac Ben-"Israel", the former head of the "Israel" Space Agency.
"You need specific and added energy when firing a satellite that weighs between 30 and 50 kilograms into space," Ben-"Israel", who is also a Kadima MK, told The Jerusalem Post. "If they succeeded, then the equivalent within the atmosphere is firing a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead that weighs one ton all the way to Western Europe."
"The Iranian satellite was not alarming in itself," he said. "It's just a box. What is [cause for concern] is the Iranians' increasing ability to fire long-range ballistic missiles," Ben-"Israel" said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made scientific development one of the main themes of his presidency, asserting that Iran has reached a peak of progress despite international sanctions and no longer needs help from foreign states.
He stressed the satellite carried a message of "peace and brotherhood" to the world and dismissed suggestions that Iran's space program had military goals. "We have a divine view of technology unlike the dominating powers of the world that have satanic views," he said. In Addis Ababa on the sidelines of an African Union summit, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the satellite would enable Tehran to receive "environmental data," adding that "the technological capacity of Iran is meant to meet the needs of the country."
Senior officials from six world powers - the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and China - will meet on Wednesday to discuss the nuclear row with Iran. It is their first meeting since U.S. President Barack Obama took office.
