is investigating a mysterious luminous object that was seen in the sky above Iran and many other Middle Eastern states last week.
Oddly, he announced the investigation 2 1/2 days after the Russians announced they had launched a ballistic missile test firing just minutes before people all over the Middle East reported seeing the luminous object in the sky. That seemed to halt the speculation everywhere—except in Iran.
The luminous object was reported and photographed by many people from Cyprus to Iran last Thursday evening.
A few hours later, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile in a test six minutes before reports of sightings began.
Vahidi announced his investigation into the mystery object Sunday, 2 1/2 days after the Russians publicly announced their missile launch.
According to Iran’s state news agency, Vahidi said, “Many comments have been made about this luminous object and its aspects are under investigation.”
Apparently trying to reassure the public, Vahidi said, according to the state news agency, “The country’s airspace is safe enough. This incident only shows that the country lacked defensive measures.”
The comment 2 1/2 days after the Russians explained their missile launch, suggested considerable confusion within the Defense Ministry. But the media in Iran did not ask why Vahidi was in the dark after 2 1/2 days. The lack of awareness raised serious questions about the competence of the Defense Ministry. It also raised questions about the ability of the ministry to respond speedily and rationally if some military action were ever to be launched against Iran.
“This suggests a surprising inability to gather and digest very basic information from the world around Iran,” commented one analyst. “How can the defense minister be so unaware of reality after the passage of more than 60 hours?”
Earlier, the Fars news agency quoted an unnamed source in Iran’s military as saying the luminous object came from eastern Afghanistan. But the Russian missile was launched from Russia and aimed at an impact point in Kazakhstan, nowhere near eastern Afghanistan.
Phone calls poured into broadcast stations Thursday night all over the Middle East. There was much speculation, including some suggesting that the light came from the Syrian military using chemical weapons against the rebel opposition.
The Russian military announced after midnight that it had launched a Topol-M missile about six minutes before the calls starting coming in. The announcement said the missile was fired from Kapustin Yar, a long-time missile test site north of the Caspian, toward a target at Saryshaghan in Kazakhstan, an old Soviet rocket range still used by the Russian military.
The Russian military announcement said the test was fully successful and the warhead “hit the simulated target Ö with projected accuracy.”
Amateur photos of the sky that night showed a large triangular area of luminescence. Later, some light emerged from the front and began spinning like a pinwheel.
Yigal Pat-El, chairman of the Israeli Astronomical Association, said the object in the sky was indeed a ballistic missile test firing that “most likely spun out of control and its remnants and fuel was what people saw.”
Uzi Rubin, one of the architects of Israel’s missile defense program, told The Jerusalem Post the missile was likely fired shortly after sunset at the launch center and then rose up above the horizon where the sun was still shining and illuminated it.
“To an observer who is under a night sky, it looks like the missile is glowing like a sort of comet,” Rubin said. “The missile itself is not visible because it is relatively small. But the trail of gases leaving the engine are lit by the sun [and] are highly visible.”
The Russian announcement said the data obtained from the test “will be used to develop efficient means able to overpower missile defense shields,” a reference to the missile shield the United States in installing in Europe to counter any future Iranian missile launches aimed at Europe.