Russia to launch Iran spy satellites: report

[rainbow4321]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/February/theworld_February52.xml§ion=theworld&col=

MOSCOW - Russia plans to launch later this year Iran’s first two satellites which were built to gather intelligence from space, the business daily Kommersant reported Wednesday.


Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has signed a directive permitting the Russian defense ministry to launch the two satellites, named Mesbah and Sinah-1, from the Plesetsk launch site in the far north of the country, the daily said.

Kommersant said the two Iranian satellites were due to be launched between April and June of this year and said they were designed for “distant examination of the earth’s surface,” a term the daily said was the common idiom for intelligence gathering.


The news comes amid rising tension between the United States and Iran over the Islamic state’s nuclear program and seemed likely to come under close scrutiny by Washington, which is nervous about Tehran’s development of advanced technologies with dual military and civilian uses. Iranian media reported Sunday that Tehran and Moscow had signed a 132-million-dollar contract for construction of a new Iranian telecommunications satellite, the Zohreh (Venus).

[bif]

1. I thought Putin was George's good friend?

What's up with that Chimpy?

[DC Law]

2. not so much these days

especially not since the contestede Ukraine elections, in which Putin and Bush exchanged thinly veiled barbs over their outcomes. A realignment is in the works, and yet another US "ally" is becoming alienated.

[mom cat]

5. Welcome to DU DC Law!

:hi:

[arcos]

4. yeah, remember he was able to look into "Vladimir's" soul... nt

[MasonJar]

3. I am sure Iran is also worried about our nuclear proclivities. Just

maybe they do not want their country polluted for 1000 years by depleted uranium.