(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-10-23 23:25

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Tuesday that plans for a US-led missile defense system in Europe are urgently needed to counter an emerging threat of attack by Iran.

"If (Iran) chooses to do so, and the international community does not take steps to prevent it, it is possible Iran could have this capability," Bush said. "And we need to take it seriously - now."

Bush's latest warning about Iran's nuclear ambitions came in a broad defense of his security policies at the National Defense University. He said intelligence estimates show that Iran could have the capability to strike the United States and many European allies by 2015.

"The need for missile defense in Europe is real, and I believe it's urgent," Bush said.

Bush's warning about Iran was contradicted by Russian Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov during a visit to Tokyo. He said US-led missile defense initiatives in Europe and Asia are based on an erroneous assessment of the threat posed by Iran.

"North Korea poses a fundamental threat, but Iran does not," Lavrov was quoted as telling Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura.

Bush sought to allay Russia's concerns and draw Moscow in, portraying the proposed system as a "cooperative effort" against "an emerging threat that affects us all."

He spoke somewhat positively of President Vladimir Putin's offer of facilities for this purpose in Azerbaijan and southern Russia. The idea would be to replace the US plans for missiles based in Poland and a radar facility in the Czech Republic.

Bush said the project as a whole is "part of a broader effort to move beyond the Cold War" and "could lead to an unprecedented level of strategic cooperation between" Russia and the United States.

But the president's words were not likely to appease his Russian counterpart, who has instead sounded as if the Cold War is beginning again over the dispute. Bush said only that Putin's suggested alternative "could be included as part of a wider threat monitoring system" and made clear that the Poland- and Czech-based plan is still the operative one for the United States.

   1 2 3   

   1 2 3