Russian President Vladimir Putin defended Moscow's nuclear cooperation with Iran and dismissed US fears it could help the Islamic republic develop weapons of mass destruction.
Putin and US President George W. Bush, who signed a landmark nuclear disarmament treaty at their Kremlin summit, remained at odds over Iran despite Bush's claim that the Russian leader shared his worries about nuclear proliferation, AFP reported.
Bush said "the greatest danger in the war against global terror is the prospect of terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction," adding that he and Putin "discussed Iran in this context."
"I worry about Iran and I'm confident that Vladimir Putin worries about Iran, and that was confirmed today," Bush told the joint press conference after three hours of talks. "We spoke very frankly and honestly about the need to make sure that a non-transparent government run by radical clerics doesn't get their hands on weapons of mass destruction," Bush added.
But Putin stoutly defended Russia's contract to build a nuclear power plant at Bushehr in western Iran, denying it would help the regime to develop weapons-grade plutonium that could be put to military use. "Russia's cooperation with Iran does not harm the non-proliferation process. ... Our cooperation with Iran is limited to energy, it only has an economic character," Putin said.
Bush warned Russia in a speech in Germany on Thursday that Moscow's nuclear links with Tehran could help the Islamic republic, whom he has denounced as part of an "axis of evil" along with Iraq and North Korea, to develop weapons of mass destruction. A top Russian government official said Friday that Iran would not be able to use Russia's nuclear cooperation program for military ends.
Meanwhile, AP reported that Iran had recently conducted a successful flight test of its Shahab-3 ballistic missile, which is capable of reaching Israel, U.S. officials said. The test, which took place earlier in May, is believed to be the missile's fifth. Some previous tests have been failures.
"It shows they are continuing to move forward with their missile programs," said one U.S. official, speaking Thursday on the condition of anonymity.
The Shahab-3 has a range of 1,300 kilometers, enough to reach Israel and U.S. troops stationed in the region — including Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Turkey.
U.S. intelligence officials have assessed Iran can probably launch a few Shahab-3s in an emergency, but has not yet developed a completely reliable weapon. A defense official said Iranian doctrine suggests Iran would probably fire as many missiles as it can in a crisis, expecting only a few to reach their targets.
Iran also fields Scud missiles, which can hit targets about 480 kilometers away. (Albawaba.com)
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