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Iran Threat Hovers Over US-Russia Missile Dispute
Friday, January 26, 2007
Moscow (CNSNews.com) - Amid differing views over the potential security threat posed by Iran, the United States and Russia are exchanging verbal blows over U.S. proposals for a missile defense "umbrella" in eastern Europe and Russian plans to sell missiles to Tehran.
The Pentagon Thursday rejected Moscow's complaint that plans to deploy U.S. missile defense facilities in the Czech Republic and Poland will alter the security balance in the region.
Missile Defense Agency chief Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering stressed in a press briefing that the shield is designed to block missiles fired by Iran and other "rogue" nations -- not those in Russia's arsenal.
During a visit to India a day earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov criticized the plan, questioning the need for the anti-missile system and arguing that Iranian and North Korean missiles are unable to hit Europe.
In fact, military experts believe that the Shahab-4 and Shahab-5 missiles Iran is working on will, once deployed, bring some European capitals within range.
In 2005, Defense Intelligence Agency director Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby told a Senate committee hearing the agency believed Iran would have the technical capability to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile by 2015, adding that "it is not clear whether Iran has decided to field such a missile."
An ICBM has a range of at least 3,000 miles, and one launched in western Iran would have the capacity to reach anywhere in Europe.
(North Korea's missile arsenal includes the 1,200-mile range Taepodong-1, which in a 1998 test flew over Japan before splashing down in the Pacific; and the Taepodong-2, which is designed to fly up to 3,700 miles, but in a July 2006 test failed after less than a minute. The Korean peninsula lies 4,500-5,800 miles from Warsaw, the Polish capital.)
The U.S. and its allies are particularly concerned about the two countries' missile programs because North Korea has developed a nuclear weapons capability, and Iran is suspected to be pursuing one as well, under the cover of a civilian nuclear energy program.
Obering said the U.S. plans in eastern Europe were clearly not designed to counter Russian missiles, as Moscow contends.
"There is no way, shape or form that 10 interceptors can neutralize the hundreds of missiles in the Russian arsenal," he said, adding that U.S. defense officials have explained the plans to Russia and would hold more discussions in the future.
Russian General Vladimir Popovkin, the Space Forces commander, said earlier "our analysis shows that the placement of a radar station in the Czech Republic and an anti-missile position in Poland would create a clear threat for Russia."
Both Russia and China have expressed suspicions for several years that proposed U.S. missile defense systems aim to counter their missile capabilities. Washington has long emphasized that they are intended to protect the U.S. and its allies from missile attack by unstable states or terrorist groups.
China and Russia are themselves key sources of missile technology sought by countries like North Korea and Iran, according to periodical CIA reports to Congress on the acquisition of WMD-related know-how.
During a visit by President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi this week, Russian and Indian officials reportedly agreed that the two countries would sell jointly produced "BrahMos" short-range cruise missiles to "friendly nations."
The joint venture aims to sell about 1,000 of the supersonic missiles, which have a range of around 180 miles.
Neither Russia nor India has announced potential "friendly nation" clients, but Russia has made it clear that it regards Iran as a suitable customer for its military hardware.
On Wednesday, Iranian officials said they had taken delivery of Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missiles from Russia. Moscow said earlier it would supply 29 of what it described as "defensive" systems to Iran under a contract signed in late 2005.
The systems comprise radars and guided missiles, and military analysts speculate Tehran wanted them in a hurry because of concerns that the U.S. or Israel may be planning air strikes to destroy its nuclear facilities.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday that Tor-M1 sale to Iran may result in the U.S. imposing new sanctions against Russia.
Russian top officials have not yet commented on the sanctions threat, but Andrei Golovatyuk, a deputy in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, dismissed the comments as "empty" talk.
International agreements do not ban supplies of defensive weapons, he claimed Thursday, echoing the Kremlin's arguments.
(CNSNews.com Managing Editor Patrick Goodenough contributed to this report.)
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The Pentagon Thursday rejected Moscow's complaint that plans to deploy U.S. missile defense facilities in the Czech Republic and Poland will alter the security balance in the region.
Missile Defense Agency chief Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering stressed in a press briefing that the shield is designed to block missiles fired by Iran and other "rogue" nations -- not those in Russia's arsenal.
During a visit to India a day earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov criticized the plan, questioning the need for the anti-missile system and arguing that Iranian and North Korean missiles are unable to hit Europe.
In fact, military experts believe that the Shahab-4 and Shahab-5 missiles Iran is working on will, once deployed, bring some European capitals within range.
In 2005, Defense Intelligence Agency director Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby told a Senate committee hearing the agency believed Iran would have the technical capability to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile by 2015, adding that "it is not clear whether Iran has decided to field such a missile."
An ICBM has a range of at least 3,000 miles, and one launched in western Iran would have the capacity to reach anywhere in Europe.
(North Korea's missile arsenal includes the 1,200-mile range Taepodong-1, which in a 1998 test flew over Japan before splashing down in the Pacific; and the Taepodong-2, which is designed to fly up to 3,700 miles, but in a July 2006 test failed after less than a minute. The Korean peninsula lies 4,500-5,800 miles from Warsaw, the Polish capital.)
The U.S. and its allies are particularly concerned about the two countries' missile programs because North Korea has developed a nuclear weapons capability, and Iran is suspected to be pursuing one as well, under the cover of a civilian nuclear energy program.
Obering said the U.S. plans in eastern Europe were clearly not designed to counter Russian missiles, as Moscow contends.
"There is no way, shape or form that 10 interceptors can neutralize the hundreds of missiles in the Russian arsenal," he said, adding that U.S. defense officials have explained the plans to Russia and would hold more discussions in the future.
Russian General Vladimir Popovkin, the Space Forces commander, said earlier "our analysis shows that the placement of a radar station in the Czech Republic and an anti-missile position in Poland would create a clear threat for Russia."
Both Russia and China have expressed suspicions for several years that proposed U.S. missile defense systems aim to counter their missile capabilities. Washington has long emphasized that they are intended to protect the U.S. and its allies from missile attack by unstable states or terrorist groups.
China and Russia are themselves key sources of missile technology sought by countries like North Korea and Iran, according to periodical CIA reports to Congress on the acquisition of WMD-related know-how.
During a visit by President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi this week, Russian and Indian officials reportedly agreed that the two countries would sell jointly produced "BrahMos" short-range cruise missiles to "friendly nations."
The joint venture aims to sell about 1,000 of the supersonic missiles, which have a range of around 180 miles.
Neither Russia nor India has announced potential "friendly nation" clients, but Russia has made it clear that it regards Iran as a suitable customer for its military hardware.
On Wednesday, Iranian officials said they had taken delivery of Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missiles from Russia. Moscow said earlier it would supply 29 of what it described as "defensive" systems to Iran under a contract signed in late 2005.
The systems comprise radars and guided missiles, and military analysts speculate Tehran wanted them in a hurry because of concerns that the U.S. or Israel may be planning air strikes to destroy its nuclear facilities.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday that Tor-M1 sale to Iran may result in the U.S. imposing new sanctions against Russia.
Russian top officials have not yet commented on the sanctions threat, but Andrei Golovatyuk, a deputy in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, dismissed the comments as "empty" talk.
International agreements do not ban supplies of defensive weapons, he claimed Thursday, echoing the Kremlin's arguments.
(CNSNews.com Managing Editor Patrick Goodenough contributed to this report.)
Make media inquiries or request an interview about this article.
Subscribe to the free CNSNews.com daily E-Brief.
Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.
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