Gen. Nikolai Makarov, the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, was interviewed on Russia’s RT television last Tuesday. Asked if Moscow now sees a nuclear threat from Iran and North Korea, Makarov said, “The threat is always there, so we closely monitor the nuclear program developments of many countries.”
He continued: “The analysis that we conducted together with the Americans confirms that, yes, there is a probability that a threat exists. And we agreed that it is necessary to create a missile defense system.”
The Russian government has for years said there is no nuclear threat from Iran and North Korea because they do not have the capability to build nuclear weapons or the missiles needed to deliver them. Many Russian officials have gone so far as to demean Iranians as incapable of mastering the technology required for nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
Makarov spoke completely differently. “Many countries that claim not to possess nuclear weapons do in fact have them,” he said, without saying whether he thought Iran was one of them. “Certainly, if it gets into the hands of extremists, it represents a threat to international security.”
Makarov said, “Let’s solve the problem. Let us work together to get rid of threats that may arise—not only for Europe but for Russia, because we, too, are part of Europe.”
In the week since Makarov spoke, there has been no comment from others in the political establishment in Moscow either agreeing with or disputing Makarov’s remarks.
It took four days for Tehran to react. The state news agency then carried a story quoting only an unnamed “Iranian defense official” as saying quite accurately that Makarov’s comment “runs counter to the stance of senior Russian officials.”
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said the unnamed official “lashed out” at Makarov for his “surprising statement.”
The article said Makarov’s support for a missile defense system in Europe “is in blatant contravention of the security of Russia and other regional countries.”
Moscow has opposed a US plan to deploy anti-missile missiles in Romania and Poland and a radar in Turkey. Russia has said they threaten Russia because they could be used against Russian missiles.
The United States says they do not threaten Russia because of where they are deployed and because there will only be a few dozen anti-missile missiles while the Russians have a thousand missiles.