Russia believes that Iran's space program is peaceful
Russia stated that they do not share the United States’ position that Iran is preparing delivery vehicles for weapons of mass destruction under the guise of developing space technologies.
As the Director of the Foreign Ministry Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, Vladimir Yermakov stated, there is no evidence that Tehran has taken steps to deploy weapons in space, unlike the United States.
“We may ask a counter question about the guarantees of the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian space program: on what basis can we demand such guarantees? Conditions should be the same for every country. All states have the right to peaceful space activities. We have no reason to distrust Tehran’s claims that its space program is pursuing peaceful goals,” said Yermakov.
It was the Director’s opinion that it is very problematic to make an effective combat ballistic missile from a space launcher. “It should also be borne in mind that it’s almost impossible to make a clear distinction between a military space program and a peaceful one,” he noted.
US and Israeli officials have repeatedly accused Tehran of using the pretense of a space program to develop its own ballistic missiles that could potentially carry a nuclear warhead. A few days ago, Tehran secretly attempted to launch the Dusti satellite, but it failed to reach the required speed for Earth orbit.