Iran said on Monday it had launched a
live monkey into space, seeking to show off missile delivery systems
that are alarming the West which fears the technology could be used to
deliver a nuclear warhead, Reuters reports.
The Defence Ministry announced the launch
as world powers sought to agree a date and venue with Iran for resuming
talks to resolve a standoff with the West over Tehran’s nuclear
programme before it degenerates into a new Middle East war.
Efforts to nail down a new meeting have
failed repeatedly and the powers fear Iran is exploiting the diplomatic
vacuum to hone the means to produce nuclear weapons.
The Islamic Republic denies seeking
weapons capability and says it seeks only electricity from its uranium
enrichment so it can export more of its considerable oil wealth.
The powers have proposed new talks in
February, a spokesman for the European Union’s foreign policy chief said
on Monday, hours after Russia urged all concerned to “stop behaving
like children” and commit to a meeting.
Iran earlier in the day denied media
reports of a major explosion at one of its most sensitive, underground
enrichment plants, describing them as Western propaganda designed to
influence the nuclear talks.
The Defence Ministry said the space
launch of the monkey coincided “with the days of” the Prophet Mohammad’s
birthday, which was last week, but gave no date, according to a
statement carried by the official news agency IRNA.
The launch was “another giant step” in
space technology and biological research “which is the monopoly of a few
countries”, the statement said.
The small grey monkey was pictured
strapped into a padded seat and being loaded into the Kavoshgar rocket
dubbed “Pishgam” (Pioneer) which on state media said reached a height of
more than 120 km, IRNA said.
“This shipment returned safely to Earth
with the anticipated speed along with the live organism,” Defense
Minister Ahmad Vahidi told the semi-official Fars news agency. “The
launch of Kavoshgar and its retrieval is the first step towards sending
humans into space in the next phase.”
There was no independent confirmation of the launch.
The West worries that long-range
ballistic technology used to propel Iranian satellites into orbit could
be put to use delivering nuclear warheads.
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