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1st Ld-Writethru: U.S. puts Iran "on notice" over "destabilizing" actions

Xinhua, February 2, 2017 Adjust font size:

The United States on Wednesday officially put Iran "on notice" over Tehran's recent missile launch and an attack against a Saudi vessel by Iran-Supported Houthi militants.

These actions "underscore what should have been clear to the international community all along about Iran's destabilizing behavior across the Middle East," Michael Flynn, national security advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, said in a statement.

Flynn said Iran's recent ballistic missile launch is in defiance of UN 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."

Iran's Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan on Wednesday confirmed the recent ballistic missile test by his country, saying the launches are part of Tehran's defense plans aimed at fulfilling its national interests.

"The recent (missile) test was in line with our programs, and we will not allow any outsider to interfere in our defense affairs," Dehqan was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

Flynn also noted that the Houthi forces that Iran has trained and armed have struck Emirati and Saudi vessels, and threatened U.S. 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," he said.

In the statement, the senior official also cited Trump to assail the Obama Administration for reaching "various" agreements with Tehran and the United Nations for "being weak and ineffective."

"Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened," he said.

On Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned Washington against fomenting new tension over the missile program of the Islamic republic.

Iran's tests of missiles fall outside United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, Zarif said, adding that the resolution only points to the ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads. Enditem