Nuclear Weapons

CIA Views Russian Concerns Over Iran’s Space Program

02.06.11 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

Russian experts are persuaded that Iran’s space program is serving to advance development of intercontinental ballistic missiles that could be used against targets throughout the Middle East and Russia, according to a CIA review of open source reporting.

“Over the past year Moscow appears to have become more worried about the security implications of assisting Tehran with the further development of its space capability,” the November 2010 CIA report (pdf) said.

The CIA document was first reported by Bloomberg News (“Russian Scientists Worried Iran Uses Their Know-How for Missiles” by Roxana Tiron and Anthony Capaccio, February 3). A copy was obtained by Secrecy News. See “Russia: Security Concerns About Iran’s Space Program Growing,” CIA Open Source Works, November 16, 2010.

On February 7, Iranian officials displayed four new prototype satellites that they said would be launched in the near future.

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