Trump Administration: 'We Are Officially Putting Iran On Notice'

Michael Flynn, President Trump's national security adviser, announced at the White House press briefing on Wednesday that the administration is putting Iran "on notice" after the country conducted an unauthorized missile launch.

"Recent Iranian actions, including 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 Middle East," Flynn said.

The Houthi is an Iran-backed religious and political movement engaged in the fractious civil war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia, an American ally, has been fighting a proxy war with Iran against the Houthi with U.S. support.

The missile launch on Sunday was a failure, according to the Washington Post. It soared 600 miles into the air before exploding.

According to Flynn, this act violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which requires 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."

However, as Reuters reported, Iran's Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan disagreed with this assessment.

"The recent test was in line with our plans and we will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defense affairs," Dehghan said to Tasnim news agency. "The test did not violate the nuclear deal or [U.N.] Resolution 2231."

Flynn noted that the Obama administration had formed agreements with Iran, arguing that the former president was weak and ineffective in his dealings with the country.

"Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened," he said. "As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice.”

He took no questions at the end of his statement.

Ben Rhodes, a former Obama foreign policy adviser, criticized the statement on Twitter.

"Agreement wasn't meant to make Iran 'thankful to the US,'" he wrote. "It was intended to peacefully rollback Iran's nuclear program, which it did."

Photo credit: Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo U.S. Department of Defense