U.S. ‘Evidence’ Of ‘Iranian-Made’ Missile Sparks Ridicule

Date: 30 January 2018 - 21:40

News ID: ۴۹۵۲۵

TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Pictures of purported missile fragments presented by the United States as "evidence” that Iranian-made missiles were used by Yemen have sparked widespread ridicule on social media, with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif offering his own comically amusing take on the images.
On December 14, 2017, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley presented a charred tube and other material that she claimed were from an Iranian-made ballistic missile fired from Yemen at the King Khalid International Airport near the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on November 4. She claimed that that "evidence” proved Iran’s violation of United Nations resolutions banning the transfer of weapons to the Houthi Ansarullah fighters.
Both Iran and the Houthis have denied that the missile fired was Iranian.
The U.S. has not stopped making that far-fetched pitch, however. On Monday, the U.S. hosted UN Security Council envoys to view the purported missile parts.
After the U.S. meeting, the UK’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Jonathan Allen, posted on Twitter pictures that he said were "clear evidence that #Iran missiles and other weapons [were] used by Houthis in #Yemen.”
One of the images shared by Allen showed what seemed to be a visibly intact cable with the writings "Made in Iran” and the emblem of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI) on it.
In a post on his own official Twitter account on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Zarif used the picture used by Allen next to one of a packet of Iranian-made cheese puffs with the same ISIRI logo.
After the November 4 missile attack on the Riyadh airport, Saudi Arabia claimed Patriot missiles purchased from Saudi Arabia had intercepted the missile, destroying it mid-air and before impact.
Saudi Arabia then provided the missile parts to the U.S., which has since been on a PR campaign to claim that the projectile was "Iranian made.”
Social media users saw the U.S. as well as Allen stretching themselves far and wide by offering the latest picture with the "Made in Iran” writing and the ISIRI emblem.
Writing in the comments section of Allen’s tweet, social media users were relentless.
Even Wendy Sherman, the former U.S. undersecretary of state, raised suspicions as to the incumbent American administration’s anti-Iran claims.
"The U.S. is going to be suspect because of Iraq, and it’s going to be suspect because it’s this administration. The bar is going to be high, as it should be,” said Sherman, who was a senior negotiator during nuclear talks that led to an international deal with Iran in 2015.
And also, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi has said the U.S. allegations pertaining to Tehran supplying Yemen with missiles is the start of psychological warfare campaign with roots in Washington’s continuous policy failures in the region.
Qassemi made the remarks during an interview with Press TV on Monday.
"The current efforts follow previous shows by the U.S. and its envoy to the UN. It comes after the U.S. suffered repeated failures in its foreign policy. This is Washington's new propaganda and part of a new psychological warfare against the Islamic Republic of Iran," he added.
The comments were made after the U.S. President Donald Trump addressed a lunch meeting with members of the United Nations Security Council, accusing Iran once again of destabilizing the Middle East and providing Yemen’s Houthi fighters with ballistic missiles.
**The UN Security Council traveled to Washington on Monday to inspect missiles allegedly provided by Iran to Yemen's Huthis