US vows to take action against Iran’s missile test

Al Jazeera- US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser has signalled a toughening US stance on Iran, condemning a recent missile test and declaring Washington was “officially putting Iran on notice”.

In his first public remarks since taking office, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn accused former president Barack Obama’s administration on Wednesday of having “failed to respond adequately to Tehran’s malign actions”.

Citing a recent missile test and the actions of Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, Flynn said on Wednesday that “Iran is now feeling emboldened”.

“As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,” he said without elaborating.

Both Trump and Flynn have been vocal opponents of an international deal that saw Iran curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iran confirmed that it carried out a new missile test, but insisted that it did not breach Tehran’s nuclear accord with world powers or a UN Security Council resolution endorsing the agreement.

Hossein Dehghan, Iran’s defence minister, on Wednesday defended Sunday’s test after the US called an urgent UN Security meeting to discuss the issue.

“The recent test was in line with our plans and we will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defence affairs,” Dehghan said, according to the Tasnim news agency.

“The test did not violate the nuclear deal or the [UN] resolution 2231,” he said.

On Tuesday, Javad Zarif, foreign minister, affirmed that Iran’s missile tests do not involve rockets with nuclear warheads and are not part of the historic deal signed two years ago by world powers, but stopped short of confirming the test.