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Trying to assuage concerns of international leaders, Iran said its first successful satellite launch is a peaceful and scientific endeavor. Yesterday, Iran launched the telecommunications satellite into space, apparently the culmination of 10 years of space program development. (Source)

Iran’s space program is in the early stages, but yesterday’s launch naturally caused concern among countries like the U.S. and Israel.

James Lewis, an expert on defense technology at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said, “There’s almost always a link between satellite programs like this and military programs and there’s almost always a link between satellites and nuclear weapons. It’s the same delivery vehicle. This action does not convince us that Iran is acting responsibly to advance stability or security in the region.”

A successful space program likely will result in Iran developing long-range ballistic missiles. Success has the power to embolden anyone, especially a country like Iran, which seeks to become a major power in the Middle East.

Incidentally, Iran’s satellite launch occurred around the time officials from the U.S., Russia, Great Britain, France, Germany, and China are meeting to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.

The “rogue” state may say the launch was peaceful and for scientific purposes, but the underlying motive cannot be ignored. Last year, an Israeli newspaper reported that Iran threatened to deploy Shahab-3 missiles in retaliation against Israel if it preemptively strikes Iran’s nuclear facilities. According to the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency, it has evidence that Tehran, Iran’s capital, secretly tried to modify a Shabab-3 missile cone to fit a nuclear payload. Iran is also reportedly involved in uranium enrichment, which is capable of making nuclear fuel or warhead payloads.

 
Since its withdrawal from an agreement with Russia for Moscow to rent radar sites in the Ukraine, the latter country is considering integrating its early warning missile system with Europe. Alternatively, it may propose that other countries use its missile defense system.

According to Ria Novosti, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the country’s “withdrawal from the agreement offers the possibility of developing active cooperation with European countries with a view to integrating units of early missile warning and space systems with similar systems.”

Last week, the U.S. and Poland entered into an agreement to install missile inceptors in the Eastern European country. The situation in the region is, to put it mildly, tense.

Iran Successfully Launches Rocket

In other missile defense news, Iran has test-launched a rocket called Safir, which has satellite-carrying capability. The White House reportedly finds the launch “troubling.” Iran may use the technology to develop ballistic missiles.

(Sources: Ria Novosti, AFP, AP and Reuters)

Update (2:04 p.m. ET): Despite Iran’s claim that a satellite-carrying rocket test-launched successfully, the launch failed, according to Reuters.