Throughout the U.S. presidential campaign, Donald Trump criticized the Obama administration for being "too soft" on Iran, and for allowing it to gain strength in the Middle East. Trump promised to "rip up" the July 2015 agreement that Iran signed with the United States and five other world powers to limit Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions.
In his first weeks in office, Trump is eager to show that he will take a more aggressive and confrontational approach with Iran, which he called "the No. 1 terrorist state" during an interview with Fox News on Feb. 5. Tehran provided an opening on Jan. 29, when it tested a medium-range ballistic missile. Iranian officials said the launch did not violate a U.N. Security Council resolution that prohibits Iran from testing weapons systems that can carry nuclear warheads.
Iran, which has a history of pushing boundaries and goading the U.S., timed its latest missile test to gauge how the new U.S. administration would respond to a show of force. On Feb. 1, Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn declared: "As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice."