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For many years, the United States and Iran have not had friendly relations. On the right is Iran's current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- mah-MOOD ah-mah-dee-nee-ZHAHD. Much of the tension between Iran and the United States has to do with Iran's nuclear program. Many years ago, Iran signed an agreement not to make nuclear weapons, which are capable of killing millions of people. Iran is allowed to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes, as long as it allows inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA. A few years ago, the IAEA said that Iran was hiding parts of its nuclear program. How do you think other countries reacted to this? Iran says its nuclear program
is only for making electricity, not weapons. Many other countries,
including the United States, don't trust that Iran is not trying
to make nuclear weapons. A few weeks ago, Iran launched its first
satellite into space. A satellite is an artificial object that
is put into orbit around Earth. Only eight other countries
have the ability to launch their own satellites. Iran is very
proud of launching its first satellite, and says it plans to
launch more next year. Satellites can be used for communication
and research, and that's what Iran says it is doing with its
satellite. But the rockets used to launch satellites can also
be used to launch nuclear weapons, and that worries other countries.
Can you understand why? |
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