Iran launches rocket into Space - As risks of a US attack against Iran increase

By: John_York

Iran flexed its muscles following Iran's objections to the UN Security Councils declaration of 21st Feb concerning Iran's nuclear programme, by launching a rocket into sub-orbital altitude. Iranian State television reported that the rocket had achieved an altitude of 94 miles before falling back to earth. The internationally recognised boundary between the atmosphere and space is some 65 miles.

Mohsen Bahrami, the head of Iran's aerospace agency, was quoted by the state television as saying that "The first space rocket has been successfully launched into space", adding that "materials created by the Science and Technology and Defense ministries for research use were on the rocket."

Iran's declared intentions are to improve on its Shahab-3 missiles range, to more than 2000 miles to enable it to carry satellites into space, with the requirement for more than 4 further satellites to expand Iran's telecommunications capacity by some four fold.

Iran'sexisting satellite Sina-1 was launched on an Russian rocket in 2005.

The hawks in the White House will see this as further proof to advance their son of star wars programme, to develop an effective inter-continental missile defense system based on the patriot missile defense system. As the iranian rocket test shows that Iran is well on the path towards developing intercontinental missiles, perhaps with the help of North Korea.

This now further increases the risks of US military strikes against Iran later this year, as the hawks and neo-cons in the Whitehouse scramble to rescue something from their disastrous foreign policy with regards Iran. Which has seen BOTH of Iran's, main enemies Saddams Iraq and the Teleban virtually destroyed, and the US bogged down in an unwinnable war in Iraq and possibly also in Afghanistan.

I now rate the threat of attacks against Iran's nuclear facilities this year at more than a 60% probability, as ever the Bush Whitehouse repeatedly fails to consider the consequences of its actions that will likely reverberate for many years if not decades to come.

By John York

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