Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) has high plans for the next decade - sending its first astronaut into space, the Iranian Fars News Agency reports. An exact date is yet to be announced, but as it appears, scientists are currently working hard in order to reach this objective.

Reza Taghipour, head of Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization, was quoted as saying that Iran is looking into the possibility of sending the first Iranian into space: “This is one of the country’s priorities for the next 10 years,” he said, adding that “within the next months to one year, the exact date of this mission will be determined.”

The announcement follows reports of a successful launch of a satellite carrier rocket, named Safir. Iran indicated that Safir succeeded in carrying a dummy satellite into space, however, foreign officials dismissed the reports, saying the mission ended in failure shortly after lift off.

However that may be, it looks like Iran is making significant progress with its space program, and the ambitions go even further than sending an Iranian astronaut into space. According to Taghipour, Iran should become the leading space power in the region by 2021, if the space program evolves according to plan.

Furthermore, Iran dismissed claims that it is actually using its space program as a pretext for launching weapons: “For the peaceful use of space, Iran has cooperated with Russia and Italy, and this will be continued in the future.”

Iran currently has the ambition to develop its space capabilities by relying on its own production of rockets. However, with Iran’s every new ambition come Western concerns that Tehran is preparing a nuclear offensive.