On Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, stated that the United States was officially putting Iran “on notice” after its ballistic missile testing over the weekend and their continued aggressive actions against the U.S. and allies in the Middle East. The retired three-star U.S. Army Lieutenant General told reporters at the beginning of Wednesday’s press briefing at the White House that the Trump administration was taking action against the “provocative ballistic missile launch” by the Islamic Republic as well as the Houthi rebel suicide attack on a Saudi warship.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer introduced Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to address Iran’s Sunday testing of the ballistic missile and the Iranian-backed attack on a Saudi warship.
“Recent Iranian actions involving a provocative ballistic missile launch and an attack against a Saudi naval vessel conducted by Iran-supported Houthi militants underscore what should have been clear to the international community all along about Iran’s destabilizing behavior across the entire Middle East,” he began.
“The recent ballistic missile launch is also in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 which calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons including launches using such ballistic missile technology,” Flynn continued.
The retired Lt. Gen. went into the series of aggressive actions taken by Iran over the past six months that the Obama Administration failed to address properly.
“These are just the latest of a series of incidents in the past six months in which Houthi forces, that Iran has trained and armed, have struck Emerati and Saudi vessels, and threatened United States and allied vessels transiting the red sea. In these, and other similar activities, Iran continues to threaten U.S. friends and allies in the region. The Obama Administration failed to respond adequately to Tehran’s malign actions,” he continued, “including weapons transfers, support for terrorism, and other violations of international norms.”
“The Trump Administration condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East which places American lives at risk,” he said.
“President Trump has severely criticized the various agreements reached between Iran and the Obama Administration, as well as the United Nations, as being weak and ineffective. Instead of being thankful to the United States in these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened. As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,” Lt. Gen. Flynn concluded.
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