Iran nuclear deal ends need for NATO missiles: Russia

The head of Russian State Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee says the recent nuclear accord between Iran and the Sextet of world powers obviates the need for the deployment of a US missile system in Europe.

Russian news agency, Interfax, quoted Alexei Pushkov as saying on his Twitter page on Thursday “The agreement with Iran destroys the remaining grounds for the missile shield’s necessity”.

NATO is currently rolling out its new Europe-wide missile shield, which will include two interceptor bases close to the Russian border in Romania and Poland. The bases are expected to become operational by 2015.

Moscow has long protested the placement of such bases on its borders, saying the aim of the Eastern European system is to encircle Russia, but Washington claims the bases are directed against an alleged potential threat from Iran.

Pushkov went on to say, “Putin has put the question correctly: the issue of Iran goes away and the European missile shield remains?”

On November 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also adopted a similar stance and said Iran’s nuclear agreement with the West leaves no place for the installation of such a missile system near the Russian border.

Tehran and the six major world powers – the US, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany — sealed an interim deal in Geneva on November 24 to pave the way for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program.