Zarif Calls US Sanctions on Iran Space Agency Ineffective
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hit back at the US government over its recent sanctions against the Iranian Space Agency and said they would have no effect in practice.
“The Americans are addicted to sanctions,” Zarif, who is on an official visit to Bangladesh, said on Wednesday.
“These US sanctions have no effect and the world is also begining to ridicule the US,” he said, adding that they have imposed sanctions on numerous countries.
In the future, they might impose sanctions even against themselves, the top diplomat said sarcastically.
The Trump administration announced the first-ever sanctions against the Iranian Space Agency.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a Tuesday statement that the sanctions would target both the space agency and two of its research institutions.
“The United States will not allow Iran to use its space launch program as cover to advance its ballistic missile programs. Iran’s Aug. 29 attempt to launch a space launch vehicle underscores the urgency of the threat,” Pompeo, the former CIA chief, said.
Iran has in recent years made great headways in the space technology thanks to the efforts made by its local scientists.
The country successfully launched its first indigenous data-processing satellite, Omid (Hope), into orbit in February 2009.
In February 2017, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani unveiled 3 new achievements in the space industry.
In July 2017, Iran inaugurated the Imam Khomeini National Space Center with the successful test-launch of a homegrown satellite carrier dubbed Simorgh.
The center, home to Iran’s first fixed launch platform, administrates the development, launch, and navigation of Iranian satellite carriers.
