US intelligence has shown Iran could launch an attack against Europe with scores or hundreds of missiles, prompting major changes to US missile defences, Pentagon chief Robert Gates said.
The claim came as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev criticised separate US and European sanctions against Iran, telling a newspaper that the big powers should “act collectively” and not unilaterally.
Mr Gates was testifying at a senate hearing to argue for ratification of a new nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, trying to reassure Republicans the agreement posed no threat to the missile defence program.
An overhaul of missile defence plans, announced by Barack Obama last year, called the “phased adaptive approach,” uses sea and land-based interceptors to protect NATO allies in the region, instead of mainly larger weapons designed to counter long-range missiles.
“One of the elements of the intelligence that contributed to the decision on the phased adaptive array was the realisation that if Iran were actually to launch a missile attack on Europe, it wouldn’t be just one or two missiles or a handful,” Mr Gates told the senate hearing.
“It would more likely be a salvo kind of attack, where you would be dealing potentially with scores or even hundreds of missiles.”
Top US generals have said the new anti-missile system was meant to guard against a potential salvo of missiles from states such as Iran or North Korea.
Mr Gates made the comment when asked by Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss if he supported deploying improved missile defences, including plans for an upgraded SM-3 missile by 2020, even if Russia objected.
Mr Gates said he backed the 10-year plan, despite possible resistance from Moscow, saying the new missile defences “would give us the ability to protect our troops, our bases, our facilities and our allies in Europe”.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr Medvedev said it “would have been impossible” a couple of years ago for Russia to support tough UN Security Council sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, as it did last week.
He said the US had nothing to lose by imposing additional sanctions because, unlike Russia and China, it has no ties with Tehran. He also expressed concern that the extra sanctions will hurt the Iranian people.
“We didn’t agree to this when we discussed the joint resolution at the UN,” Mr Medvedev told the newspaper. “We should act collectively. If we do, we will have the desired result.”
In Moscow, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia is disappointed by the new US and EU unilateral measures against Iran, warning the moves could affect cooperation in the nuclear crisis.
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