Iran Says US Shouldn't Make 'Empty Threats'

On Wednesday, Michael Flynn said the US was "putting Iran on notice." President Trump seconded that notion Thursday in the way only he can: an early morning tweet-storm. "Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE," Trump tweeted. The AP reports he went on to falsely claim the US gave Iran $150 billion as part of Barack Obama's nuclear deal. In reality, Iran was given access to $100 billion of its own money that was sitting in frozen bank accounts. Flynn and Trump made their respective statements in response to a recent ballistics missile test by Iran. The US characterized the test as a failure after the missile traveled 500 miles then crashed, according to CNBC.

Iran responded to being put on notice Thursday, insisting it will "vigorously" continue its missile program, which it argues is for defense and doesn't violate the nuclear deal or a UN resolution, CNN reports. Top Iranian official Ali Akbar Velayati accused Trump of "extremism" and "baseless ranting." Iran also accused the US of creating controversy out of fear. "America should be careful about making empty threats to Iran," CNBC quotes an Iranian official as saying. (More Iran stories.)