Obama resumes Iran threat rhetoric

President Barack Obama vows not to shelve the controversial US missile plans until an "Iranian missile threat" is eliminated.

Obama took a hard line against Iran's missile program on Sunday, ruling out recent media reports that Washington may reconsider a Bush-era bid to deploy a controversial missile shield in Eastern Europe.

"As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go forward with the missile system," Obama said in a speech in Prague.

He assured that he would move ahead with US missile plans unless Iran agrees to cooperate on the issue of its missiles and its nuclear program.

The Bush administration had tabled a motion to station 10 silo-based missiles in Poland and a missile-tracking radar in the Czech Republic, allegedly to defend its allies against missile threats.

Russia has responded angrily to the US ballistic missile defense (BMD) plan, suggesting that Washington seeks to weaken Moscow's position in its traditional region of influence.

The Kremlin has threatened to deploy short-range Iskander-M missiles on the Polish border in response, giving rise to Cold War-like tensions between Washington and Moscow.

Earlier in the month, Democratic congresswoman Ellen Tauscher said talks of an "Iranian missile threat" had been grossly exaggerated in recent years.

"The argument that the US would be naked against an Iranian threat unless we deploy the GMD system in Europe is simply not right," said Tauscher -- a candidate for a top nonproliferation post in the Obama administration.

In order to justify its missile plans, Washington has strived to portray Iran's uranium enrichment program, missile development and space quest as threats to world stability.

Iran says its medium- and long-range missile program is conventional and in line with its national interests.