U.S. Is Proposing European Shield for Iran Missiles

Now why would the US propose a "European Shield" if Iran is years away from capability for medium and long-range missiles? Like everything else, real national security concerns are not the primary driver of Bush Administration policy. The primary driver is business and secondarily it's about political agenda. "Star Wars" contractors must be winding down development and initial phases of implementation and need more business. Secondly, Bush wants the Europeans to get good and scared about what Iran might do so any adventures the US initiates will get support.
New York Times

To improve the coverage against a potential Iranian threat, the Pentagon is upgrading a radar complex at Fylingdales, a British air base, and plans to begin similar work at the American Thule Air Base in Greenland. By building an antimissile base in Europe, the Pentagon is seeking to position the interceptors close to the projected flight path of Iranian missiles that would be aimed toward Europe or continue on a polar route to the United States.
General Obering said the system would complement any NATO efforts to develop an antimissile defense.
Iran does not have intercontinental-range missiles and has yet to conduct a flight test of a multistage rocket. There has been concern that Iran might develop the technology it needs to build such a weapon in the guise of a civilian space program. But some experts say it is a long way from developing such a system.


"As far as we can tell, Iran is many years away from having the capability to deliver a military strike against the U.S.," said Gary Samore, vice president of the MacArthur Foundation and a former aide at the National Security Council. "If they made a political decision to seriously pursue a space launch vehicle it would take them a decade or more to develop the capability to launch against the U.S." MORE