Washington has defended plans to build missile defense facilities in the Czech Republic and Poland as necessary to protect European allies from a potential missile strike from "rogue" states, especially Iran.

A new US intelligence community assessment on Iran's nuclear ambitions, however, found that the Islamic republic froze an atomic bomb program in 2003.

But the White House has insisted that the Islamic republic remains a danger, arguing that it could revive the nuclear weapons program anytime. And the Defense Department says Iran's conventional missiles are still a threat.

"Whether or not Iran has suspended its nuclear weapon program, its conventional missiles remain a threat to Europe, and we should continue to pursue missile defense together," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.

When asked about the new intelligence report's impact on the missile shield plan, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said: "I don't believe it's had any change on missile defense, certainly nothing that I've heard, nor should it."

"It's a long-term effort to protect our allies from threats from missiles, and I think that effort is proceeding," said Fratto. "We expect that to continue, it shouldn't change anything."

The US missile shield plan has been a source of tension reminiscent of the Cold War between the United States and Russia, which views the missiles a threat to its security. But the two sides have been trying to find a compromise.

The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) which changed the assessment of Tehran's nuclear program has also threatened to complicate Washington's efforts to convince Russia and China to agree on new United Nations sanctions against Iran over its refusal to freeze its uranium enrichment program.

But the NIE apparently did not come up during talks about the missile shield this week between US and Russian military leaders.

US Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed the US missile shield plans Tuesday with General Yury Baluyevsky, the chief of the Russian general staff, said Lieutenant General John Sattler.

Their discussion on the project was "very candid, very open," said Sattler, director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Staff.

"The NIE did not come up during those discussion, the parts I was present for," Sattler said.

"But as you can imagine it is two great powers discussing a very sensitive issue and trying to make sure that, where we can, we try to be as transparent to one another, and where we find middle ground we take that middle ground and build from it," he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained Wednesday that Washington had gone back on an offer to allow full-time Russian monitors to be based at the Czech and Polish sites.

Lavrov said the offer was made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates during a visit to Moscow in early October but was absent from a written proposal delivered in late November.

This, he said, was a "serious retreat."

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