Iran deal isn’t going anywhere despite Trump’s pledge: Ryan

Iran “was playing with fire” by testing medium-range ballistic missiles, Trump said in a tweet Friday. This in itself is not unusual. But the context in which this is now unfolding is very different.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Flynn declared he was “officially putting Iran on notice” over the launch.

The Security Council resolution was adopted to buttress the deal under which Iran curbed its nuclear activities to allay concerns they could be used to develop atomic bombs, in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

Trump’s move also escalated tensions with Iran, which has said the missile tests are within their rights to conduct.

Mattis’ comments were made during a press conference in Tokyo where he also said that as things stand now, there is no plan to increase the number of USA forces in the Middle East to counter the growth in Iran’s weapons capabilities.

That deal was seen as one of President Obama’s key worldwide achievements, but Mr Trump has spoken of his disdain for the agreement.

On the campaign trail, Trump railed against the nuclear deal, though his aides have offered a more muted view after he took office.

Iran denied that its missile test had violated the 2015 deal with Mr Obama, underpinned by a UN Security Council resolution, and instead accused the USA of violating the agreement with a fresh round of sanctions. Most sanctions that apply to US entities remain in place.

“I think you are going to see a coordinated effort sanctions-wise and other in multiple ways against Iran”, Corker said in a live interview on MSNBC Thursday morning. One would be to attack Iranian speedboats when they come out to harass U.S. Navy ships.

The US Treasury says the sanctions are part of its “ongoing efforts to counter Iranian malign activity overseas”.

In recent history the focus of Iranian sanctions has not been for funding terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, which are responsible for thousands of American and Israeli deaths.

The sanctions came as the United States moved a Navy destroyer closer to the coast of Yemen to guard waterways from the Iran-aligned Houthi militia rebels, Reuters news agency reports.

Trump signed an executive order last week that effectively denies entry into the U.S.to immigrants from seven “terror-prone” countries.