TEHRAN, Iran — Iran launched a research rocket and unveiled its first major space center, state television reported Monday, the latest steps in a program many fear may be cover for further development of its military ballistic missiles.
Iran has long declared a goal of developing a space program, but the same technology used to put satellites in space can also be used to deliver warheads.
“It is just another troubling development,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. “And, of course, the U.N. Security Council and other members of the international system have expressed their deep concern about Iran’s continuing development of medium- and long-range ballistic missiles.”
Iranian officials have said they are developing a Shahab-4 missile to launch a satellite. Iran’s powerful ballistic missile, the Shahab-3, is believed to have a range of at least 800 miles, which would include Israel and much of the Middle East. In November, Iran said it had manufactured a new missile, the Ashoura, with a range of 1,200 miles.
Iran also unveiled its first domestically built satellite Monday.
Despite concern over Iran’s space program, it is not clear how far along it is, or whether the latest launch actually reached the internationally agreed-upon beginning of “space,” set at 60 miles above Earth.
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