Iran
has been put 'on notice' as the country faces serious sanctions or even
attack after it tested a ballistic missile said to have nuclear
capabilities.
President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump says the US is putting Iran formally "on notice" after the country tested a ballistic missile.
He was echoing the comments of National Security Adviser Michael
Flynn, who has accused the Iranian government of "malign actions" over
the test.
Washington earlier declared the test to be "absolutely unacceptable".
Iran confirmed on Wednesday it had tested a missile over the
weekend but denied violating a UN Security Council resolution on its
nuclear activities.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, dismissed the comments, saying: "This is not the first time that an inexperienced person has threatened Iran."
Reacting to the development on Thursday, Donald Trump tweeted:
"Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile.
Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with
them!"
The president's national security adviser had said the same in a
daily press briefing on Wednesday, but did not provide any further
details of what actions the US may be planning in response to the test.
Pentagon officials say the missile test had failed upon re-entry
into the earth's atmosphere. The launch prompted the US to accuse Iran
of violating UN resolution 2231, which "calls upon" Iran not to
"undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be
capable of delivering nuclear weapons".
The measure formed part of the resolution which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal agreed by Iran with six world powers.
Mr Flynn did not accuse Tehran of violating that nuclear accord,
but he did describe the Obama administration-brokered deal as "weak and
ineffective".
"Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened," he said.
He said "the Obama administration failed to respond adequately
to Tehran's malign actions - including weapons transfers, support for
terrorism and other violations of international norms".
Mr Flynn also pointed to a recent attack against a Saudi warship by Iranian-backed Houthi militants as evidence of "Iran's destabilising behaviour across the Middle East".
During Mr Trump's campaign for president, he frequently attacked the nuclear pact with Iran, vowing to "dismantle the disastrous deal".
'Nobody can influence our decision'
In December 2016, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told an audience
at the University of Tehran that he would not allow Mr Trump to "rip
up" the deal, Reuters news agency reported.
On Wednesday, Iranian Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan stood by the country's missile test.
"We have previously announced that we will execute the programmes
we have planned in production of defence equipment meant for our
national interests and objectives," Iranian media quoted him as saying.
"Nobody can influence our decision. We will not allow foreigners to
interfere in our defence affairs. The test did not violate the nuclear
deal or resolution 2231."
-BBC
No comments:
Post a Comment