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Trump Tweeted About Fake Iran Missile Launch, Officials Say

Trump threatened the Iran nuclear deal over an unconfirmed launch that actually happened (and failed) in January.

Reports of an Iranian missile launch on Friday—about which President Trump tweeted—were fake, U.S. officials told Fox News on Monday. Iran played a video of a missile launch during a military parade last week, claiming it showed a new type of missile—but the footage was actually from a failed launch in January, two U.S. officials said. That didn’t stop Trump from tweeting about the unconfirmed reports as though they were fact on Saturday. “Iran just test-fired a Ballistic Missile capable of reaching Israel,” the president wrote. “They are also working with North Korea. Not much of an agreement we have!” In a speech at the United Nations earlier that same week, Trump called the Iran nuclear deal an “embarrassment” to the U.S., later implying that he might withdraw from the deal.