The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. threatens Iran with reprisals over ballistic missile test
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration condemned Iran on Wednesday for its recent test of a ballistic missile, saying it was putting Tehran “on notice” and threatening reprisals, still unspecified, from the United States.
“As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,” said National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, speaking in the White House briefing room. He said Iran’s test was the latest in a series of provocative actions that had destabilized the region and violated United Nations resolutions.
Flynn did not specify how the administration would respond, although other officials have said the White House is weighing sanctions on the Iranian government.
“The Obama administration failed to respond adequately to Iran’s malign actions,” Flynn said.
He said the United States and Iran had signed several agreements that he labeled “weak and ineffective.” Instead of being grateful to the United States, he said, Iran escalated its provocations.
Earlier Wednesday, Iran confirmed that it had recently conducted a missile test, but it rejected accusations from the United States that the launch had violated a U.N. Security Council resolution.
The confirmation by Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan was the first by an Iranian official since Iran was accused of violating the 2015 resolution because the test involved a missile that could theoretically carry a nuclear warhead.
The remarks came a day after President Hassan Rouhani disparaged President Donald Trump for his immigration order barring refugees and citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran.
“Banning visas for other nations is the act of newcomers to the political scene,” Rouhani said.
Dehghan emphasized that the missile test did not, in Iran’s view, violate the terms of the resolution, nor those of the 2015 nuclear agreement that preceded it.
No country will be allowed to interfere in Iranian domestic affairs, he said, adding that tests would continue.
“Our nation has tested itself in this path,” Dehghan said, adding that the world had “tested us” and “these statements and measures cannot affect the will of our nation.”
Trump has repeatedly described the nuclear agreement, reached with the United States and other countries during the Obama administration, as “a very bad deal,” and many of his advisers have argued in speeches and books that Iran is the biggest threat to U.S. interests.
The United States called an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the matter.
Iran does not have a modern fleet of fighter jets, but it has tried to compensate by building an extensive defense program, with missiles able to strike Israel and Southern and Eastern Europe.