U.S.: Missile parts prove Iran is arming rebels

Weapons allegedly sent to Yemen group

WASHINGTON — Flanked by singed missile remnants, President Donald Trump’s envoy to the United Nations declared Thursday that “undeniable” evidence proves Iran is arming Houthi rebels in Yemen, the latest bid by the Trump administration to rally the world against the Persian Gulf nation.

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley went to an emptiedout hangar at a military base not far from the U.S. Capitol, where fragments recovered from missiles launched from Yemen were paraded before reporters. Haley said the truck-sized missile segment behind her had been launched at the international airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and “led the U.S. intelligence community to conclude unequivocally that these weapons were supplied by the Iranian regime.”

“This is absolutely terrifying,” said Haley, one of the Trump administration’s most vocal critics of Iran. “Just imagine if this missile had been launched at Dulles Airport or JFK, or the airports in Paris, London or Berlin. That’s what we’re talking about here.”

The newly declassified evidence marked the most aggressive U.S. effort to substantiate its claim that Iran funnels weapons to the Houthis, an allegation widely accepted by most countries, but that Tehran steadfastly denies. It comes as the Trump administration seeks to rally the world to punish Iran for its ballistic missile program and other activities, despite backing away from the 2015 nuclear deal.

World powers that joined the U.S. in brokering that deal have voiced frustration at Trump’s moves to “decertify” Iran’s compliance with the deal as a prelude to renegotiating it. The Obama-era deal rolled back Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions in sanctions relief, but did not address Iran’s missile-building or support for militant groups in the Middle East.

“Iran has hidden behind the nuclear deal,” Haley said.