Donald Trump declared on Thursday that his administration had put Iran "on notice", signalling both a tougher US line with Tehran and a new test of relations after a weekend missile launch by the Islamic republic.
During his campaign, Mr Trump threatened to unravel or renegotiate a nuclear deal that the Obama administration and other world powers sealed with Tehran in 2015, but has taken no public steps to deliver on that since taking office.
On Thursday morning, the US president said on Twitter that Iran had been "formally put on notice", and that the country "should have been thankful for the terrible deal" it made with the United States.
“Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the US came along and gave it a lifeline in the form of the Iran Deal: $150 billion,” he added.
His comments echo a terse statement delivered on Wednesday by retired general Michael Flynn, the new national security adviser, pointing towards a change of White House policy.
“Recent Iranian actions, including a provocative ballistic missile launch and an attack against a Saudi naval vessel conducted by Iran-supported Houthi militants [from Yemen]... a couple of capital cities in the region would have been ruled by terrorists now,” he said.
Dismissed Mr Trump’s criticism
Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s centrist president, last month dismissed Mr Trump’s criticism of the nuclear deal as “slogans” and ruled out any renegotiation of the deal.
Speaking in the background, a senior White House official called Iran’s missile test “highly provocative” and warned that Tehran was attempting to destabilise the region through its support for Houthi rebels, which it said risked “intensifying the conflict in Yemen”.
“We are going to take appropriate action,” the official said, repeatedly asserting that the administration was “in a deliberative process” about future steps. “There are a large range of options available to the administration from financial and economic to pursuing other options related to support,” the official added.
Mr Flynn's statement prompted questions from analysts and warnings that it risked being unnecessarily provocative. "This is the kind of thing that brings people to a war footing and this is not good," retired general Mark Hertling told CNN. "It is very provocative language."
Trita Parsi of the National Iranian American Council called Mr Flynn's statement a "reckless" response to a "needless provocation" by Tehran.
“While Flynn’s remarks could be construed as simply bluster, they will beget an Iranian response, which in turn will beget further threats by the US,” he said. “At some point, this escalatory cycle that started with bluster may end in war.”
Mr Flynn's comments came as the US Senate voted to confirm Rex Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil chief executive, as Mr Trump's secretary of state.
Ballistic missile launch
In his statement, Mr Flynn said that Sunday's ballistic missile launch had been in violation of a UN Security Council resolution. He called the latest moves by Iran part of a recent "series of incidents" that illustrated how "Iran continues to threaten US friends and allies in the region".
He also blamed the Obama administration for failing to “respond adequately to Tehran’s malign actions” including its support for international terrorism and again criticised the 2015 nuclear deal signed by the US.
"President Trump has severely criticised the various agreements reached between Iran and the Obama administration, as well as the United Nations – as being weak and ineffective," he said. "Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened."
The tough language was welcomed by Republicans in Congress.
Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, said that he had been briefed by Mr Flynn on Wednesday.
“I am very encouraged by the seriousness with which President Trump is approaching the full range of threats Iran poses to American interests. It is clear that Iran will no longer be given a pass and will be held accountable for its illicit behaviour,” he said.
– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017)