**The US will abandon its plan to develop a missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic, according to the Wall Street Journal.**The newspaper said the plan would be dropped because the threat posed by Iran’s long-range missile programme was less than first thought.
President Barack Obama ordered a review of the defence system, introduced by his predecessor George W Bush.
The system was expected to be fully operational by 2012.
In August 2008 the US signed a deal with Poland to site interceptors in the Baltic Sea and the Czech Republic to build a radar station in its territory.
It said the European sites were needed to protect European allies or US forces in Europe from Iran or some other country.
However, the Wall Street Journal reported: “The US will base its decision on a determination that Iran’s long-range missile program has not progressed as rapidly as previously estimated, reducing the threat to the continental US and major European capitals, according to current and former US officials.”
An announcement was expected later at a press conference held by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and military staff, the Associated Press reported.