the first time its intention to send a human to space during the summit of Soviet and Iranian Presidents at 21 June 1990. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev reached an agreement in principle with then-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to make joint Soviet-Iranian crewed flights to Mir space station but this agreement was never realized after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Almost two decades later the Iranian News Agency claimed on 21 November 2005, that the Iranians have a human space program along with plans for the development of a spacecraft and a space laboratory. Iran Aerospace Industries Organization (IAIO) head Reza Taghipour on 20 August 2008, revealed Iran intends to launch a human mission into space within a decade. This goal was described as the country's top priority for the next 10 years, in order to make Iran the leading space power of the region by 2021. In August 2010, President Ahmadinejad announced that Iran's first astronaut should be sent into space on board an Iranian spacecraft by no later than 2019. According to Iranian human space program, the first sub-orbital spaceflight was take place by 2016 at an altitude below 200 kilometers as preparation for the eventual orbital spaceflight. No such vehicle was developed. On 17 February 2015, Iran unveiled a mock prototype of crewed spaceship that would be capable of taking astronauts into space. According to Iran's Space Administrator, this program was put on hold in 2017 indefinitely. In 2021, the spaceship was being prepared to send a human into space by 2026. Space station According to unofficial Chinese internet sources, an Iranian participation in the future Chinese space station program has been discussed. This involvement might range from simply sending astronauts to the 60 ton class space station to contributing with development of a space laboratory module. International human spaceflight cooperation has officially been disclosed for the first time after the launch of the Chinese Shenzhou 7 spacecraft. Lunar program In 2011 and 2012, Western media has quoted that Iran has plans to land an astronaut on the Moon by 2025. However Iran doesn't have a medium lift rocket, therefore sending a human to space is unlikely due to the lack of equipment. Controversy The Iranian space program has been condemned by United States and Europe because of their concern over its military potential. Some analysts have compared the relatively fast Iranian advancement in space technology to