Defense Secretary Robert Gates: U.S. Could Wait For "Proof" Of Iran Threat

(CBS/AP) The United States might delay activating its proposed missile defense sites in Europe until it has "definitive proof" of a missile threat from Iran, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

At a news conference after meeting Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, Gates said this was a proposal to the Russians - who strongly oppose U.S. missile defense - that has yet to be worked out in detail.

"We would consider tying together activation of the sites in Poland and the Czech Republic with definitive proof of the threat - in other words, Iranian missile testing and so on," Gates said with Topolanek at his side.

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"We have not fully developed this proposal, but the idea was we would go forward with the negotiations, we would complete the negotiations, we would develop the sites, build the sites, but perhaps delay activating them until there was concrete proof of the threat from Iran," the defense chief said.