WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Wednesday called for the United States to establish a missile defense shield in Europe to counter Iranian ambitions after that country test-fired nine missiles.

The tests "demonstrate the need for effective missile defense now and in the future, and this includes missile defense in Europe as is planned with the Czech Republic and Poland," McCain said in a statement.

Iran said it fired the medium- and long-range missiles to warn the United States and Israel that it was ready to retaliate if they attacked over its disputed nuclear projects.

The United States on Tuesday signed a pact to build part of a missile defense shield in the Czech Republic to counter threats from the Middle East. The Bush administration also wants to install missile-defense facilities in Poland, although talks have stalled.

McCain's rival in the November election, Democrat Barack Obama, called for greater diplomatic engagement with Iran and tighter sanctions -- an approach McCain has criticized.

"Working with our European and regional allies is the best way to meet the threat posed by Iran, not unilateral concessions that undermine multilateral diplomacy," McCain said.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan, editing by Vicki Allen)

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)

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