US: Concerned About Iran's Space Launcher Program That Could Be Converted to Long-Range Missiles

The US State Department expressed concern in response to Iran's launch of a space capsule, which Iranian media described as a precursor to sending humans into space. A spokesperson for the US State Department told the Persian section of Voice of America, "We are aware of reports that Iran claims to have launched a biological capsule into space. We do not have any specific comments on those reports, but we have long expressed our concerns that Iran's space launcher programs, which have interchangeable capabilities with longer-range missile systems, are clearly a concern." This US official added, "We will continue to use a variety of tools to counter the proliferation of nuclear weapons, including sanctions, to address further advancements in Iran's ballistic missile program and its ability to proliferate missiles and related technologies to others." Iranian media reported that this 500-kilogram capsule was launched to an altitude of 130 kilometers above the Earth's surface using the Salman launcher, without specifying the launch site. Eisa Zarepour, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology of the Islamic Republic, stated that in the next step, they will first send a living being and eventually, humans into space. These remarks come despite previous statements from officials of the Islamic Republic's Space Agency, who deemed the cost of sending humans into space as making the project impractical.