NPR

Iran Is Preparing A Launch. But Is It For A Space Rocket Or A Missile?

Iran says its intentions are peaceful, but the U.S. worries the planned launches are really about developing weapons — specifically, intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Satellite imagery reveals signs of recent activity at Iran's space launch complex. Analysts say they expect launches in coming weeks.

About once a day, little satellites zip over northern Iran and snap a few pictures of the Imam Khomeini Space Center. The satellites, operated by a company in San Francisco called Planet, haven't recorded much — until recently.

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"We're seeing all kinds of activity," says a scholar at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, who

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