credit BBC / caption: this image is a screengrab from Iranian state television video shown by the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation and other media outlets are reporting that Iran has launched its first satellite and this website has some detail also. I have spoken with the press office of the Iranian embassy here in London and they said that they are expecting an official statement "in the next few days". Go here for the Iranian state television video of the rocket launch, care of the BBC
on February 3, 2009 11:59 AM | Reply
Israel should be worried. Wilth an nut case as Ahmadinedjad in office anything can happen.
on February 3, 2009 1:15 PM | Reply
While Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is president I don't think that conveys quite the same level of executive power as the US president, in Iran they have a "supreme leader" as chief of state. Ahmadinejad seems to be more of a prime minister, a head of government, who churns out the same old rhetoric against the US and Israel that has been heard since the 1979 revolution that brought about the current theocracy that runs Iran. There are also "elections" coming up in Iran so expect the rhetoric to be ratched up. But of course when we say elections they are for candidates approved by the council of guardians, find out more at this BBC report
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/iran_power/html/guardian_council.stm
on February 3, 2009 7:07 PM | Reply
50 years ago it would have been groundbreaking news & NASA would have gotten a huge emergency fund to stay ahead of Iran. Nowadays it's buried under the latest super bowl advertising stories.