LONDON — Iran wants to join a United Nations satellite network that produces high resolution imagery.
Western diplomatic sources said Teheran has requested participation in
a UN-funded satellite network for border security. The sources said the
Islamic republic has cited its war against drug trafficking from neighboring
Afghanistan.
"The Iranians have made a good case for joining the program," a
diplomatic source said. "But the United States believes that Iran will use
the satellite to spy on the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq."
[Iran has announced plans to launch three satellites, including a
reconnaissance facility, over the next year, Middle East Newsline reported. Russia was said to be a leading
contractor in the project.]
The proposed satellite network would focus on Afghanistan and the
surrounding region. The sources said the UN satellites would provide
high-resolution imagery meant to monitor borders and detect the movement of
drug traffickers.
The satellite proposal has been drafted by the UN Office for Outer Space
Affairs, based in Vienna, and meant to cover Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. But
under U.S. pressure, the sources said, the UN satellite program has been
shelved.
Iran has already received Western security and military equipment
ordered by its anti-drug program. They included delivery of 250 night vision
goggles and 1,000 body armor sets from Britain and mobile global positioning
systems and computers from France.
The UN office has already trained Iranian representatives in global
navigation satellite system [GNSS] technologies. In May 2004, the Iran Space
Agency and European Space Agency organized a UN workshop on environmental
security.
[On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that Iran has withdrawn
virtually all of its troops from Lebanon. The Post quoted U.S. officials as
saying that Iran has between 12 and 50 military trainers in Lebanon.]