Iran achieved a major breakthrough in its space program after setting up its first space tracking center aimed to monitor heavenly bodies hovering in the Earth's orbit, the Islamic Republic announced on Sunday.

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the inauguration of the facility located in Delijan, 125 miles south of the country's capital city and site of its nuclear programs: Tehran.

Ahmadinejad said Iran's space center will be a big boost for the country as it attempt to control the activities of satellite, and at the same time, monitor other objects roaming around in the space.

Iran has long been planning to launch its satellite into orbit for the purpose of monitoring forthcoming natural disasters in a country severely hit by numerous earthquakes in the past.

However, the United States and other allied nations expressed their concern about the real capability of these satellites. It is feared that Iran could use the technology to develop long-range nuclear war-head.

Defense Minister General Ahmad Vahidi insisted the space center was primarily for its 'space-related' security and Iran is planning to share data gathered by the center with other countries.

"The base is aimed at securing the country's space facilities and monitoring space objects especially satellites that pass overhead," Vahidi was quoted as saying.

Iran space program has a nine command and control ground stations, eight of which are located in the southern and central region of the country while one is found in the ally nation of Syria.

In February, Iran announced their plan to send a monkey into space to kickstart their ambitious space program.