According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, Hassan Salariye, head of Iran's Space Agency, stated on Wednesday that Iran's space industry could become a strategic gateway to future energy and mineral resources. Salariye said the space industry is a strategic priority for Iran and, like fields such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology, will play a decisive role in energy and mineral resource utilization and productivity management. He noted that global forecasts indicate a significant increase in space capabilities after 2026, leading to increasingly fierce competition among nations for the development and acquisition of these technologies. He added that access to resources beyond Earth and the management of outer space may be as strategically important to global affairs as the Strait of Hormuz is to the global energy market. Salariye further pointed out that with increasing constraints on energy and material resources, the space industry will be a key area for addressing these challenges, and Iranian experts are working to enhance the country's capabilities in this field.
