EU Protests Russian-Iran Missile Deal

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5482012,00.html

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The European Union has formally protested to Russia about its sale of sophisticated missiles to Iran, European and U.S. officials said Thursday, saying the diplomatic row reflected disarray on how to pressure Tehran to scale back its suspect nuclear program. snip

The complaint underlined European dismay with the timing of the arms agreement because the sale cast doubt on where Russia stands as the West pushes to get the Tehran regime to give up uranium enrichment. snip

A U.S. official said both Washington and the EU were caught by surprise by the arms deal, which was initially revealed by Russian news media early this month. The official said the deal would suggest to the Iranians there is no common will to confront them on nuclear and other issues.

State Department spokesman Adam Ereli recently said the U.S. government strongly opposed the missile sale and implied the Bush administration hoped to head off the deal. But Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has said Russia will proceed with the sale.