Washington: The US imposed sanctions on Iran’s civilian space agency and two research organisations on Tuesday, saying they were being used to advance Tehran’s ballistic missile programme.
The US Treasury sanctions targeted the Iran Space Agency, Iran Space Research Centre and the Astronautics Research Institute, according to a statement on its website. “The United States will not allow Iran to sue its space launch programme as cover to advance its ballistic missile programmes,” Mike Pompeo, secretary of state, said in the statement. He also said Iran’s attempt on August 29 to test a space launch vehicle underscored “the urgency of the threat.”
An Iranian rocket exploded on its launch pad at Imam Khomeini Space Centre in northern Iran before its scheduled launch last Thursday. The explosion followed Iran’s failed attempt to launch a satellite in January.
The sanctions, part of a years-long US pressure campaign to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons, are the first imposed on Iran’s space agencies, according to the state department. The US fears long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also be used to launch nuclear warheads.
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The state department also said that the Iran Space Agency develops satellites and launch vehicle technology, and works with the Iran Space Research Centre on day-to-day tasks as well as research and development. The two have also worked with a sanctioned liquid propellant ballistic missile organisation, Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, they added. The Astronautics Research Institute has managed the space vehicle launch project, according to the department.
Tehran denies its space activity is a cover for developing weapon launches.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump posted on Twitter a photo of what appeared to be the site of the failed Iranian satellite launch.
“These designations should serve as a warning to the international scientific community that collaborating with Iran’s space programme could contribute to Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon delivery system,” Pompeo said. Trump withdrew from a 2015 multi-national nuclear deal with Iran, saying it did not go far enough.
(Reuters)