Pentagon: Iran Missile Test-Launch Underscores US Concerns

A Pentagon spokesman says Iran's claim that it tested a new missile that can reach Israel, southeastern Europe and U.S. bases in the Middle East "is consistent" with U.S. concerns about Iran's effort to develop ballistic missiles and its nuclear program.  

Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman would not comment on the specifics of the missile test that Iranian state media reported Wednesday. But he says the report tends to add credence to U.S. concerns about the potential Iranian threat to its neighbors.

"Our concerns have not changed overnight as a result of any particular report. Our concerns have been long-standing," Whitman said. "We continue to see them pursue a ballistic missile capability. And we obviously have concerns about medium and long range ballistic missile desires because of their implications in the region."

Whitman says the Obama Administration has not yet decided whether to continue the Bush administration's effort to put a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. The system is designed to protect U.S. allies from missiles like the one Iran says it just tested. But President Obama says he wants to evaluate whether the system is technologically feasible and cost effective, and whether the Iranian threat can be eased through diplomacy.

Bryan Whitman spoke about that on Wednesday.

"Iran is at a bit of a crossroad. They have a choice to make," he said. "They can either continue on this path of continued destabilization in the region, or they can decide that they want to pursue relationships with countries in the region and the United States that are more normalized. They have a choice to make."

President Obama is trying to engage diplomatically with Iranian leaders, in an effort to settle differences over its missile and nuclear programs, and other issues. But he said this week that if he does not get a positive response by the end of the year, he will reassess his policy.

Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, but U.S. officials disagree. Still, experts say while Iran is making progress in its missile program, the technology involved in putting a nuclear warhead on a missile is much more complicated