Iran said Tuesday it had successfully sent its first domestically produced satellite into orbit, joining an exclusive club of fewer than a dozen nations with such capabilities. "The launch itself was not such a significant accomplishment, but it's a reminder that the clock is ticking on Iran's nuclear program," said David Albright [2], president of the Ploughshares-funded Institute for Science and International Security [3]. Other analysts said Iran's entry into space would further complicate the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, and efforts to prevent deployment of the controversial missile-defense system. But Charles Ferguson [4] of the Council on Foreign Relations [5] told the New York Times [6], "This is no reason to panic. It shouldn't force us to make a missile defense decision in Europe." He said Iran's action had more to do with sending a message to Washington and asserting influence as a regional power than on achieving a new military capability. "It's a way for the Iranian people to stand proud," Ferguson said, "but to do it in a way that is still within a civilian program."
Links
[1] https://ploughshares.org/file/215
[2] http://www.ploughshares.org/expert.php?id=102
[3] http://www.isis-online.org/
[4] http://www.ploughshares.org/expert.php?id=96
[5] http://www.cfr.org/
[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/world/middleeast/04iran.html?_r=1&ref=world
[7] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/03/AR2009020300285.html?hpid=topnews