The Real Threats Behind Iran’s Military Satellite Launch
By Potkin Azarmehr
While the rest of the world is busy battling the coronavirus outbreak, and lockdowns grind economies to a halt, Iran managed to successfully launch its first military satellite last month which poses a serious threat to the West.
Until now, Iran’s missile capabilities posed a regional threat. But Iran’s latest technological breakthrough in launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) extends that threat for the first time to American military bases in England. Moreover, new mobile launch technology enables Iran to launch ICBMs from anywhere inside the country virtually undetected.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reacted to the launch by accusing Iran of breaching a UN Security Council resolution restricting its use of ballistic missiles. “[t]he world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism should not be allowed to develop and test ballistic missiles,” Pompeo said. “This common-sense standard must be restored by the international community.”
Even the UK government, which normally takes a conciliatory approach with Iran, said the launch was “of significant concern and inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution.”
Iran’s space agency has tried to launch satellites before. The April 22 launch of Nour-1 (Light-1) satellite using the new Qassed Space Launch Vehicle (SLV), however is the first successful military satellite launch for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“We are now a space power,” General Amirali Hajizadeh, th...