Trump Tells Iran: Nothing is Off the Table
Local Editor
US President Donald Trump said "nothing is off the table" in terms of a response to Iran's ballistic missile test.
Trump made the comment on Thursday in response to a question by a reporter about whether he would consider military options to respond to Iran, a day after his national security adviser Michael Flynn put Tehran on "notice."
The White House also said Thursday it would respond to Iran's ballistic missile test.
"We will have further updates for you on those additional actions, but clearly [Flynn] warned to make sure that Iran understood that they are on notice that this is not going un-responded to," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters.
The remarks about Iran by the new Republican president echoes the warnings made repeatedly by former President George W. Bush who on several occasions said he would not take the military option off the table.
Former President Barack Obama also threatened military action against Iran before the nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers in 2015.
For their part, Iranian officials slammed such statements as foreign meddling in the country's domestic defense agenda, saying that such missile tests were the nation's inalienable right to self-defense.
Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, said Thursday that "the missiles, which were put to test were defensive," adding that Tehran will continue its missile work with full strength.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, a total of 220 lawmakers voiced their "full-fledged support" for Iran's Armed Forces, saying "the reinforcement of the defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in line with deterrence strategy" is an absolute necessity to ensure the country's security.
They said the country's missile tests were by no means in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2231, which was adopted in July 2015 to endorse a nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
