Death of Three Researchers at Iran's Space Research Institute in 'Fire Incident'

Simultaneously with the remarks of Iran's Minister of Communications about the launch of new satellites by the Islamic Republic, three researchers at the Iran Space Research Institute were killed in a 'fire incident'. According to ISNA news agency, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Iran, announced on Sunday, February 3, that three researchers at the Transport Systems Research Institute lost their lives in the fire incident. Azari Jahromi did not mention the cause of the fire or the names or positions of those who died in the incident. He stated that due to a ceremony being held at the institute, 'no one noticed the fire' and these individuals perished. He also mentioned that 'a complete report of this incident has not yet been released'. On Sunday, the head of passive defense and the security manager of the Energy Research Institute reported that the fire had been contained on the basement level of the institute. Rouhollah Zamani-Sefat stated that no one was harmed in this incident. He added, 'The cause of the incident is not yet fully determined, but evidence suggests that it was due to burning of stored foam in construction activities on the basement level.' The fire at the Space Research Institute occurred concurrently with the Islamic Republic's efforts to launch new satellites into space. Incidents at military, missile, and satellite facilities of the Islamic Republic have a history. In recent years, some cyberattacks have also caused problems in Iran's nuclear and missile programs. The American newspaper 'New York Times' reported in June 2012 that delays in Iran's nuclear program were the result of a joint Israeli-American cyberattack, and the 'Stuxnet' malware had impacted uranium enrichment in Iran. According to this report, 'Stuxnet' was initially tested at the Dimona nuclear reactor in Israel and the Dimona reactor had turned into a 'laboratory' for ensuring the functionality of the Stuxnet malware for two years. In October 2016, the Associated Press reported that the continuation of fires at Iranian petrochemical facilities raised suspicions of hacking of petrochemical systems and software sabotage in Iran. Following an explosion in November 2011 at an ammunition depot of a Revolutionary Guard base in Bidganeh, near Malard city, 20 kilometers from Tehran, Hassan Tehrani-Moghaddam, head of the Revolutionary Guard's Self-Sufficiency and Industrial Research Organization, and 16 other members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed. Iranian officials announced on January 14 that they had launched a rocket carrying the 'Payam' satellite into space, but the rocket did not reach sufficient speed, and the satellite ultimately failed to enter orbit. Meanwhile, political analyst Reza Taghizadeh wrote in a note on Radio Farda that the failure of this satellite launch cannot be attributed solely to 'technical faults' and 'normal failure of a space test' without providing sufficient evidence and documentation, and other possibilities, including the role of the American deterrent space capacity known as 'Left-of-Launch', which has been cited in relation to the failures of North Korean missile experiences, were simply dismissed. France condemned the launch of the rocket carrying the 'Payam' satellite, and the United States deemed this test a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. However, Iranian officials have stated that they will continue to launch new satellites. Meanwhile, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology announced on Sunday that the 'Doosti' satellite will be launched in the near future. According to Azari Jahromi, the accuracy of this satellite, which is being built at Sharif University, is 10 meters and has many applications in remote sensing fields. He stated that the launches of telecommunications satellites Nahid 1 and Nahid 2 are on the agenda, and the Zafar satellite, which is being built by the University of Science and Technology, will also be delivered by September 2019. According to Azari Jahromi, the Nahid 1 satellite uses new technologies such as solar cells. Iran's satellite launches have faced years of delays, so much so that the Minister of Communications stated that the passing of 14 years since the scheduled launch of the 'Misbah' satellite has rendered this satellite obsolete and its useful life has expired.