Reports: top Russian diplomat voices concern about Iranian missile tests

MOSCOW (AP) - A senior Russian diplomat on Wednesday voiced concern about Iran's launch of a rocket, Russian news reports said. The statement appeared to indicate that Moscow increasingly shares Western concerns about Tehran's nuclear course.

"It adds to general suspicions of Iran regarding its potential desire to build nuclear weapons," Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov was quoted as saying. "Long-range missiles are one of the components of such weapons. That causes concern."

Iran said Monday that the rocket test-fired Monday will be used to launch research satellites into space, but the US State Department said the launch was a "troubling" show of a technology that could be used to fire long-range ballistic missiles.

Russia in the past has been skeptical about Iran's missile capability, saying it will take a long time to build long-range missiles.

The US and its allies suspect Tehran of secretly developing nuclear weapons, but Iran insists its uranium enrichment program is intended solely for civilian energy needs.

Russia, which is building Iran's first nuclear plant, last month completed the shipment of uranium fuel for it. However, it has shared Western concerns about Iran's uranium enrichment effort and backed international calls on Tehran to freeze it.

Last month, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - along with Germany agreed on the basic terms of a new resolution that calls for additional sanctions against Iran, including travel bans and freezing assets.