Roughly a dozen states in the Middle East have recently turned to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna for help in starting their own nuclear programs. United States government and private analysts say they believe that the rush of activity is also intended to counter the threat of a nuclear Iran.
China successfully carried out its first test of an anti-satellite weapon last week, signaling its resolve to play a major role in military space activities and bringing expressions of concern from Washington and other capitals, the Bush administration said Thursday. Only two nations -- Russia and the United States -- have previously destroyed spacecraft in anti-satellite tests, most recently the United States in the mid 1980s.
To some government analysts and other experts in the West, Iran's space debut is potentially worrisome. While world attention has focused on whether Iran is clandestinely seeking nuclear arms, these analysts say the launchings mark a new stage in its growing efforts to master a range of sophisticated technologies, including rockets and satellites. The concern is that Tehran could one day turn such advances to atomic ends.
Experts say that Iran faces many obstacles on its road to become a nuclear power. The most significant, they add, involve the two most technically challenging aspects of the process รข?? converting uranium ore to a toxic gas and, especially, spinning that gas into enriched atomic fuel.