By Ahmet Dursun
ANKARA - (AA) Three scientists were killed after a fire broke out at Iran’s Space Research Center, local media reported Sunday.
The cause of the fire remains unclear, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi as saying.
Jahromi did not provide any further details regarding the exact time of the fire or the names of the victims.
On Jan. 15, Iran launched a domestically-manufactured satellite into space, but failed to place it in orbit.
Nevertheless, the U.S. and France both condemned the satellite launch, claiming it violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
In a statement, the U.S. accused Iran of "hiding its intercontinental ballistic missile program and threatening the Middle East and Europe with its satellite activities”.
Tehran, for its part, countered that all of its missiles were solely conventional in nature and that its satellite activities were intended for exclusively civilian use.