On Saturday evening, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to attack the Iran nuclear deal.
“Iran just test-fired a Ballistic Missile capable of reaching Israel.They are also working with North Korea,” he tweeted. “Not much of an agreement we have!”
Iran just test-fired a Ballistic Missile capable of reaching Israel.They are also working with North Korea.Not much of an agreement we have!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
The only thing is that Friday’s missile test never actually happened, according to a new report Monday
Fox News reported Monday evening that the video released by the Iranians was more than seven months old, and the footage is actually from a failed launch in late January. At the time, the missile exploded shortly after liftoff, according to Fox News sources.
Video: #Iran successfully test-fires new ballistic missile
Details: https://t.co/eKHi0jXnED pic.twitter.com/30XkB8ddbP— Press TV (@PressTV) September 23, 2017
Trump has often railed against “fake news,” but his Friday tweet to his millions of followers now appears to be just that.
The president has also often assailed leakers in the White House and throughout the government, making Fox News’ report, which is based on information from unidentified “U.S. officials,” even richer.
Fox News also first reported the failed missile launch in January, and, at the time, the White House said Iran was “on notice.”
The Iran deal must be recertified every 90 days, and Trump has often stoked uncertainty about whether he will renew the deal. The agreement is up for recertification in October, and Trump told reporters over the weekend that he has made up his mind about the deal, but didn’t say what he decided.
In a speech at the United Nations last week, Trump called the deal an “embarrassment.”
“We cannot let a murderous regime continue these destabilizing activities while building dangerous missiles, and we cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear program,” he said of the agreement in his first speech to world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
An unidentified U.S. official also told Fox the Iranians are lying about the range of their missiles, which experts say can go further than the state is saying, but that they weren’t sure why.
“I think they don’t want to piss the Europeans off,” the official said.