Iran is pressing Italy over a satellite, Mesbah-1, built by an Italian company in 2005 but never delivered to Tehran, a top Iranian space official said Tuesday.
"Iran now has rockets capable of launching Mesbah-1, but unfortunately Italy is using various pretexts such as (UN) resolutions and sanctions for not giving us the satellite," space agency head Hamid Fazeli was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying.
Mesbah-1, built by Carlo Gavazzi Space SpA, should have been launched by Russia in 2005, but never was for reasons which remain unclear.
Moscow, which launched the first Russian-built Iranian satellite, Sina-1 in 2005, said it never received Mesbah-1.
Italy, according to several specialised sites, has suspended licenses to export materials used in such projects as they are now subject to international embargos imposed on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.
Italian-Iranian deal on satellite frozen
3240 views
