Russia Compares Trump’s Iron Dome to Reagan ‘Star Wars’ Missile Shield, ‘Won’t Help Reduce Tensions’

Moscow on Friday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to build an “iron dome” missile defence system in the United States, saying it risked turning space into an arena of “confrontation.”In an executive order on Monday, Trump called for the creation of an “Iron Dome for America” to counter ballistic and hypersonic missile threats, reviving parts of a controversial Reagan-era plan nicknamed “Star Wars” that would have placed missile interceptors in space.Zakharova claimed the plan would expand Washington’s missile deterrence to a scale “comparable to Reagan’s Star Wars,” which she called “odious.” She said the move was primarily aimed at “devaluing Russian and Chinese strategic deterrence capabilities.” “To put it mildly, these U.S. approaches will not contribute to reducing tensions,” Zakharova said.The “iron dome” in Trump’s decree refers to a highly successful system employed by Israel to down short-range rockets.Washington faces various missile threats from adversaries, but they differ significantly from the short-range weapons that Israel’s iron dome is designed to counter.n18oc_world n18oc_crux