Iran´s New Satellite Capable Of Spying On Israel

January 8, 2006

“Sina-1 is a research satellite,” said Deputy Telecom Minister and head of Iran’s space program Ahmad Talebzadeh. Asked directly if it could be used to spy on the Jewish state, Talebzadeh said, “Technically speaking, yes. It can monitor Israel, but we don’t need to do it. You can buy satellite photos of Israeli streets from the market.”

Israeli officials acknowledge that Iran’s satellite is a danger to the Jewish state. “We know that they spy on us,” Chairman of the Knesset (Parliament) Defense Committee Ephraim Sneh (Labor party) told the Associated Press. “What they are trying to do is look for places where a mega-terror attack can take place.” With Iran able to monitor everything, from Israeli military deployment to locations of key strategic targets, it is feared that such information could be provided, in real time, to the handful of terror organizations under its sponsorship.

Iran plans to launch an additional satellite, the Misbah, in January 2006. Sneh said the launching of the satellite is part of Iran’s ambition to become a global military power.

Meanwhile, Iran still claims that its nuclear program is peaceful, aimed at producing electricity. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported in November, though, that Iran has already enriched uranium to ten times the concentration needed to produce electricity. Israel and the United States believe that Iran aims to produce nuclear weapons. It is unclear what steps will be taken to prevent the Islamic country from becoming a nuclear power.

By Ezra HaLevi, Arutz 7, www.israelnationalnews.com

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