Monkey business? US unsure of Iran's space claims

The United States expressed doubt about Iran's claim that it safely returned a monkey from space, saying it is questionable that the monkey survived - or if the flight happened at all.

The United States expressed doubt on Monday about Iran's claim that it safely returned a monkey from space, saying it is questionable that the monkey survived - or if the flight happened at all.

State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said a lot of questions remained "about whether the monkey that they reportedly sent up into space and reportedly came down was actually the same monkey, whether he survived."

"The Iranians said they sent a monkey, but the monkey that they showed later seemed to have different facial features," Nuland told reporters.

"He was missing a little wart."

Tehran blames the confusion on Iranian media for initially using a photo of a backup monkey.

It says the monkey orbited and returned safely, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad added Monday that he would consider being Iran's first astronaut in space.

This combination of photos show an Iranian technician holding a monkey that Iran claims rode a rocket into space and right an undated image of a technician holding a monkey which had been prepared to ride a rocket. AP

A handout picture released by the Iranian presidency website shows Ahmadinejad looking at a space monkey during a ceremony to mark Iran's National Day of Space Technology in Tehran. AFP