Iran’s minister of communications and information technology Mohammed Javad Azari Jahromi announced on Sunday, February 3, 2019, that three researchers at the Iranian Space Research Center (ISRC) were killed during a a fire accident that broke out there several days earlier. According to the minister, the incident occurred in the transportation laboratory section of the research center. The minister stated that when the fire broke out, another event was going on at the research center, and no one noticed the spread of the flames. The minister did not give any further details.1
Ruhollah Zamani, who is responsible for security at the Space Research Center, confirmed that the incident occurred and added that the fire broke out on Floor -1 of the Center. He said that the circumstances of the fire were not yet clear, but it was possible that it was caused by a blaze that broke out near a garbage storage area next to which construction work was being done.
These explanations have not convinced some of the Internet surfers in Iran, who ridiculed the idea that while “another event” was taking place at the Center, “no one noticed a fire in which three researchers of the country’s exclusive institute were killed!”
It should be noted that two weeks earlier, Iran did an experiment to launch a Payam satellite with an Iranian Simorgh missile, but the missile failed at the third stage and did not reach the required speed. As a result, the satellite crashed into the Indian Ocean.
The day after the failed experiment, the head of the Iranian Space Research Center stated that the Center and its researchers would continue in their efforts to launch other satellites shortly.
Farsi-language sites identifying with the opponents of the Iranian regime have not ruled out the possibility that the fire at the Space Research Center was deliberate.
The Iranian regime is currently celebrating 40 years of the Islamic regime and the fall of its 2,500-year monarchy. Almost every day, senior military officials are unveiling another “achievement” in the military field.
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