"In the coming one to two months we will carry out the first tests of a biocapsule designed to send astronauts into space... There is hope that in the coming five years we will be able to send an Iranian astronaut into space," Zarepour was quoted as saying by an Iranian news agency.
Iran was one of the 24 founding members of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in 1958. In 1998, Tehran unveiled its first medium-range ballistic missile, Shahab-3. In 1985, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Air Force was established, renamed into IRGC Aerospace Force in 2009. In April 2020, it successfully launched Iran's first homegrown military satellite, Noor-I, followed by the second one, Noor-II, in March 2022. In September 2023, Tehran put the Noor-III military satellite into orbit 450 kilometers (279.6 miles) above the Earth's surface with the Qased carrier rocket.