Trump administration says it’s putting Iran ‘on notice’ following missile test - washingtonpost

The Trump administration said Wednesday it was “officially putting Iran on notice” that it is paying attention to what it called “defiance” of nuclear agreements with its test launch of a ballistic missile.

The launch, along with Tuesday’s attack by Houthi rebels on a Saudi warship off the coast of Yemen, “underscore what should have been clear to the international community all along about Iran’s destabilizing behavior across the Middle East,” said Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s national security adviser.

Flynn read the Iran statement at the regular White House press briefing and did not take questions.

In his first media appearance since the inauguration, Flynn recalled that Trump during his campaign criticized the nuclear deal — negotiated by the Obama administration with world powers, Iran and the United Nations — “as being weak and ineffective.”

“Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements,” he said, “Iran now feels emboldened.” The brief statement, calling the missile launch “provocative,” did not outline any actions the administration intends to take.

Iran’s launch Sunday of a medium-range Khorramshahr missile ended in failure, with the missile reportedly traveling about 600 miles before exploding in the air.

The agreement, which took effect a year ago, prohibits development of ballistic missiles as part of a nuclear weapons program that the accord was designed to prevent. Differences of opinion on whether the launch is a violation of the agreement rest on interpretation of the strength of the nuclear deal and of Iran’s intentions. - Read More

Trump administration says it’s putting Iran ‘on notice’ following missile test

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