Gates: Iran Missile Testing is ‘a Real Threat’

By David Jackson

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Iran’s missile test on Wednesday proves "there is a real threat," but he downplayed the possibility of war.

"I think everybody recognizes what the consequences of any kind of a conflict would be," Gates said.

The two main presidential candidates denounced the missile launches and offered differing approaches on how to deal with Iran.

Democrat Barack Obama said the tests prove the need for a new foreign policy approach, including direct diplomacy with Iran. Republican rival John McCain called for more international pressure on the Iranians, including a new missile-defense system based in Eastern Europe.

Iran fired nine long- and medium-range missiles, including ones capable of reaching Israel and U.S. positions in Iraq and Afghanistan, state media said. The country has conducted similar tests, but Wednesday’s launches came a day after Iran said it would retaliate against any attack.

The Bush administration says Iran is building a nuclear bomb. Iran says it wants to use nuclear power for electricity, even though it has the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves. It says the U.S. and Israel are mounting a "propaganda" campaign against it.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the administration remains committed to diplomacy, and that the U.S. and allies "have offered Iran a generous package of incentives if (Iranians) will suspend their uranium-enrichment activities."

Johndroe said Iranian leaders "should also refrain from further missile tests if they truly seek to gain the trust of the world."

McCain and Obama noted the many threats against Israel by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both candidates pledged to do whatever they could as president to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The missile tests "demonstrate again the dangers (Iran) poses to its neighbors and to the wider region, especially Israel," McCain said.

Obama said Iran "poses the greatest strategic challenge to the United States in the region in a generation."

John Bolton, a former Bush administration official, called the missile tests "part of Iran’s effort to dissuade the United States or Israel from using military force against (its) nuclear program."

Bolton, also a former ambassdor to the United Nations, said he did not think the administration would use military force. Israelis might, he said, if they see Iran "as a threat to their very existence."

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Israel "does not desire hostility and conflict with Iran," but its nuclear program and ballistic missile development are "a matter of grave concern."