The latest developments with Iran's nuclear program reinforce the case for a U.S. missile shield to protect Europe from attacks, German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said.
``Precisely these latest developments also confirm that such protection makes sense,'' Jung told Reuters in an interview earlier this week.
``Timely precautions must be taken against the foreseeable increase of the range of offensive missiles of certain problem states, even if it concerns long-term developments,'' he said.
The minister did not name Iran directly but it was clear the countries he had in mind included Iran and North Korea -- the ``rogue states'' Washington says the shield would protect against.
The United States wants to build a radar station in the Czech Republic and a missile battery in Poland to defend against possible missile attacks.
Plans for the missile shield have angered Russia and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-left coalition partneranrs.
The comments by Jung, a member of Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), are among the strongest yet from a senior German official favoring discussion of the U.S. project.
Iran said on Monday it had begun industrial enrichment of uranium, a process the West fears Iran will use to make atomic bombs. Tehran says its program is entirely peaceful.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told German newspaper Bild that members of the alliance could not ignore Iran's nuclear plans and missile capabilities.
``We also can't ignore the fact that Iran has tested missiles with a range of 1800 km, which could reach Europe. Naturally this will play a role in our discussion of missile Defense,'' Scheffer was quoted as saying on Bild's website.
NATO Defense ministers will discuss the missile shield at a meeting in Brussels in June though no decision is expected.
DIALOGUE WITH RUSSIA
Russia sees the shield plan, which NATO has been discussing since 2002, as an encroachment on its former sphere of influence and says it could undermine global non-proliferation.
Senior members of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), who rule in coalition with the CDU, fear it could trigger a new arms race between Russia and the West. But the government has already agreed the issue should be discussed within NATO.
Jung said it was crucial to involve Russia in discussions as the United States is doing now and was optimistic an agreement with Russia could be reached.
Asked about estimates of when Iran could possess a nuclear weapon, Jung said Tehran had a long way to go, if getting an atom bomb truly was its goal.
``According to expert assessments, Iran is years away from that point,'' he said.
Jung said it was possible to stop Iran through diplomacy.
``We can do everything possible to prevent Iran from successfully combining long-range missiles and atomic weapons. And I'm very hopeful that we -- the United States, Europe, Russia and China -- can achieve this diplomatically.''
The U.S. shield is intended to provide protection for most of Europe but would leave gaps, especially over southern Europe.
``I think that's a mistake and that would mean a splitting of Europe,'' Jung told reporters in Brussels.
He said in the interview NATO would have to discuss ways of bridging the gap with a possible NATO missile shield that would complement the planned U.S. missile Defense system.
SPD Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been one of the most outspoken critics of the shield, saying Washington wanted it for protection against non-existent threats.
Jung said the threat from deadly weapons was all too real.
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