Iran Breaks Record: Iran, a country in West Asia, made a record by launching three spaceships at the same time. This has worried Western countries.
Iran left the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and started making its missiles. Western countries, including the United States, are not happy about this. Despite the protests, Iran set a record yesterday by sending three spaceships into the sky using the Simorgh rocket. Iran says these spacecraft were sent for things like telecommunications services and research. Yesterday, Iran successfully launched the rocket after five previous attempts had failed. This success has made the West unhappy.
The concern is that this rocket technology could be used to make nuclear missiles. After the rocket launch went well, there were worries that Iran might start making more missiles armed with nuclear weapons.
Currently, there’s a conflict between Israel and Hamas in West Asia, but Iran has not directly joined the war. However, Iran is supporting some terrorist groups, including the Houthis. Despite facing sanctions, Iran is building several missiles. Now, with the successful rocket launch, there are expectations that Iran may start making more missiles.
The rocket launch happened as tensions rose in the wider Middle East due to Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This has raised concerns about a potential regional conflict.
Even though Iran has not directly joined the military actions, there’s increasing pressure within Iran for some form of response. This pressure has heightened after a deadly Islamic State suicide bombing earlier in the month, and as groups linked to the war, such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels, carry out attacks. A drone attack on Sunday, claimed by Iranian-backed Iraqi militias, resulted in the death of three U.S. troops and injured at least 25 others in Jordan.
Iranian state television released footage showing the Simorgh rocket launch at night. An analysis by the Associated Press revealed that the launch took place at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s rural Semnan province. The video showed that the rocket launched on Sunday had the slogan “We Can” in Farsi, possibly referring to previous failures.
The Simorgh is a two-stage, liquid-fueled rocket designed by Iranians for placing satellites into a low Earth orbit. However, the U.S. intelligence community’s 2023 threat assessment suggests that the development of satellite launch vehicles could expedite Iran’s progress toward an intercontinental ballistic missile, as it shares similar technology. The report specifically mentions the Simorgh as a potential dual-use rocket.
The United States has previously stated that Iran’s satellite launches violate a U.N. Security Council resolution, urging Tehran to refrain from any activity involving ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired in October.
Under the previous President Hassan Rouhani, Iran slowed its space program to avoid escalating tensions with the West. However, since the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal and the rise of President Ebrahim Raisi in 2021, Iran has accelerated its space program. Raisi, aligned with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been pushing for advancements in various areas.
Iran’s uranium enrichment has also come closer to weapons-grade levels, although U.S. intelligence agencies believe Iran has not actively pursued a nuclear weapon.
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom condemned Iran’s satellite launch on Jan. 20, stating it could aid in the development of long-range ballistic missiles. They expressed concerns about Iran’s ballistic missile technologies, emphasizing Iran’s nuclear escalation beyond civilian justifications.
Tehran holds the largest arsenal of ballistic missiles in the Middle East, partly due to decades of sanctions. The U.S. military acknowledged the successful Jan. 20 launch by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
The State Department expressed concern about Iran’s space launch vehicle programs, seeing them as a potential pathway to expand longer-range missile systems. The U.S. continues to use nonproliferation tools to counter the advancement of Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the UK’s Defense Ministry confirmed that one of its warships shot down a drone launched by Houthi rebels from Yemen. The HMS Diamond used its Sea Viper missile system in the Red Sea, causing no damage or injuries. The Houthis, who did not acknowledge the attack, have been targeting U.S. and British ships, claiming it is in response to the war on Hamas. However, their attacks increasingly have tenuous or no links to the ongoing conflict and have disrupted international trade.
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