An expert and satellite images show that Iran appears to be preparing for a space launch as negotiations continue in Vienna over its tattered nuclear deal with world powers.
The blast off at Iran's Imam Khomeini Spaceport comes as Iranian state media has offered a list of upcoming planned satellite launches in the works for the Islamic Republic's civilian space program, which has been beset by a series of failed launches. Iran's Revolutionary Guard put a satellite into space last year.
Tehran's negotiators already described six previous rounds of diplomacy as a "draft" and the launch fits their hard-line stance. Germany's new foreign minister warned that time is running out for the country.
Jeffrey Lewis, an expert at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who studies Tehran's program, said that all this fits into a renewed focus on space by Iran's hard-line President. Concerns about alienating the talks with launches that the U.S. asserts aids Tehran's missile program have faded with the departure of Iran's former President.
Lewis said that they are not walking on eggshells. Raisi's people have a new balance in mind.
Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment on the activity at the spaceport. The U.S. military did not respond to requests for comment.
The Associated Press obtained satellite images that show activity at the spaceport in the desert plains of Iran's rural Semnan province.
A support vehicle was parked next to a big white gantry that typically houses a rocket on the launch pad. Satellite photos at the site show a support vehicle just before a launch. A railed platform and a crane are seen before previous launches and are likely used to service the rocket.
The number of cars at the spaceport has increased in the last few days, which is a sign of heightened activity that precedes a launch. Lewis said that a building believed to be the "checkout" facility for a rocket has seen increased activity.
He told the AP that it was traditional pre-launch activity.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency published an article saying that its space program had four ready for launch. The satellite was described as being under the final phase of preparation. The weight of Zafar is more than 200 pounds.
After a February 2020 launch at the spaceport, the Zafar 1 failed to enter the correct position. Iranian officials said that the launch failed to put the satellite into the correct position because it used a Simorgh rocket. Iran spent 2 million euros to build a satellite.
Iran's civilian space program has suffered a number of setbacks in recent years. The explosion that caught the attention of President Donald Trump was a classified U.S. spy satellite picture that was captioned, "The United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident."
In April 2020 the Guard successfully launched a satellite into space. The head of the U.S. Space Command dismissed the satellite as a tumbling webcam in space that wouldn't provide Iran vital intelligence, though it showed Tehran's ability to successfully get into orbit.
Iran has sent several satellites into space over the past decade. Iran's Supreme Council of Space met for the first time in 11 years under Raisi, according to a recent report by state-run television.
Raisi said at the November meeting that it shows the determination of the government to develop the space industry. The Foreign Minister attended the meeting along with a high-ranking member of the Guard.
The U.S. alleges that Iran is violating a UN Security Council resolution.
Iran, which has said it does not seek nuclear weapons, maintains that its satellite launches and rocket tests do not have military components. Tehran says it has not violated the U.N. resolution because it only called upon it not to do so.
Tensions over Iran's nuclear program are rising. Iran abandoned all limits on its program after the US withdrew from the nuclear accord.
Tehran is enriching up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons-grade levels. International inspectors face challenges in monitoring its advances as its stockpile of enriched uranium continues to grow.
Lewis thinks the space program will accelerate given Raisi's interest.
He said that they were not constrained by worries about the Iran deal the same way that Rouhani was.
_
The Associated Press writer in Tehran, Iran, contributed to the report.
_
Follow Jon Gambrell on the social networking site.
