Trump: All Options Against Iran Are on the Table

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, stated that no options are off the table regarding Iran's ballistic missile program. During a meeting with a group of executives from Harley-Davidson at the White House on Thursday, Trump responded to a reporter's question about whether a military option is being considered against Iran, saying briefly, "Nothing is off the table." These remarks came just a day after Michael Flynn, Trump's National Security Advisor, officially warned Iran about its missile program. Trump also started his Thursday morning with a tweet about Iran, stating, "Iran was on its knees and collapsing until the U.S. gave it a new lease on life in the form of the nuclear deal: with $150 billion!" In another tweet regarding Iran, he referred to Iran's recent missile test and reiterated his National Security Advisor's warning, writing, "Iran has been officially warned about its ballistic missile test. They should be thankful to the U.S. for the bad deal they signed." The Trump administration considers Iran's missile tests a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, while Iran does not view these tests as a violation. Section 3 of Annex B of Resolution 2231 states, "Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology, for eight years after the date of the adoption of this resolution or until the agency provides a report confirming the 'broader conclusion', whichever occurs first." According to Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, the resolution 'requests' (not 'commands') Iran not to test ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which he interprets as non-binding. The Iranian Foreign Minister also stated that Iran's missiles are not designed to carry nuclear warheads. During his election campaign, Donald Trump referred to the nuclear deal with Iran as a 'terrible deal' and promised to annul it. The Obama administration had previously stated that Iran's missile tests do not violate the JCPOA.