Russia is continuing its campaign against a planned US missile system in Eastern Europe. On Thursday, Russian officials said Iran’s latest missile test proved the system isn’t needed because of the missiles’ limited range. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed Russian criticism and warned Iran the US would act to protect what she called US “interests.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: “We are also sending a message to Iran that we will defend American interests and defend the interests of our allies. We’ve done that both by — I think you know that in the Gulf area the United States has enhanced its security capacity, its security presence, and we are working closely with all of our allies to make certain that they are capable of defending themselves. And we take very, very strongly our obligation to help our allies defend themselves, and no one should be confused about that.”

The US and the Czech Republic signed an agreement this week to host a US radar site. Negotiations continue with Poland to host US ballistic missiles. Majorities in both Poland and the Czech Republic have opposed the missile system, which is widely seen as a first-strike threat against Iran.