Iran currently has no missiles capable of striking Europe and the US, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
"It is evident that Iran currently poses no threat to the US and European countries… At the moment, Iran has no missiles capable of striking Europe, let alone the US, and is unlikely to develop [such missiles] in the foreseeable future," Lavrov said.
Russia can not allow US plans to deploy elements of its missile shield in Europe to threaten the effectiveness of its nuclear deterrent, Russian Foreign Minister also stated.
US officials admit that the missile defense system in Europe might be able to hit Russian inter-continental ballistic missiles by 2020.
"The US administration says its global missile shield program is not directed against Russia. However, our conclusions on the true potential of the future missile defense system should be based on specific military and technical factors, not on words," Lavrov said.
"We will not accept a state of affairs when a missile defense system poses a threat to Russia's nuclear deterrence potential," RIA Novosti cited him as saying.
