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Amy Goodman

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White House Falsely Claims Iran Attacked U.S. Ship

HeadlineFeb 03, 2017

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer falsely claimed Thursday that Iran attacked a U.S. naval vessel—which, if it were true, would constitute an act of war. In fact, Spicer was referring to a Houthi rebel attack against a Saudi ship off the coast of Yemen on Monday. This is Sean Spicer.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer: “I think General Flynn was really clear yesterday that Iran has violated the joint resolution, that Iran’s additional hostile actions that it took against our Navy vessel are ones that we are very clear are not going to sit by and take.”

This false claim comes after National Security Adviser Michael Flynn condemned Iran’s recent ballistic missile test launch and said the U.S. was putting Iran “on notice.” This morning, President Trump tweeted, “Iran is playing with fire–they don’t appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!” Many experts, as well as Iran’s Foreign Ministry, say the missile test does not violate the terms of a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution. The test also does not violate the terms of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran, the U.S. and other nations. The White House is expected to impose additional sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities over the missile test.

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