US ‘evidence’ of ‘Iranian-made’ missile sparks ridicule

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, US 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 US has not stopped making that far-fetched pitch, however. On Monday, the US hosted UN Security Council envoys to show them the purported missile parts.

After the meeting in the US, 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.

Zarif posted another tweet later, reminding that the ISIRI seal is used on Iranian consumer goods, not weapons.

After the November 4 missile attack on the Riyadh airport, Saudi Arabia claimed Patriot missiles purchased from the US had intercepted the missile, destroying it mid-air and before impact.

Social media abuzz with... well... ridicule!

Saudi Arabia then provided the missile parts to the US, which has since been on a PR campaign to claim that the projectile was “Iranian-made.”

Social media users saw the US 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.

“'Made in Iran' in English... waaahahaahahaha! Iran cearly [sic] has a great deal of weapons trade with countries like the US, UK, Aus and South Africa right?” wrote one user, pointing to the absurdity of the claim that writings were in English.

“Its [sic] easy to play pics get a real life dude,” quipped another user.

“Is this a joke?! I thought UK should be able to find smarter people to represent it!” wrote still another user.

“Oh really , why they didn't color it with Iranian flag?” read another comment.

And another one: “Mr Ambassador, how cheap and childish so called evidence!!! Do you really think if Iranians were to ship missile parts to Yemen they would mark it with "Made In Iran"???? come on... not good coming from a high ranking UK official.”

Other users used pictures of Iranian products, such as boxes of tissues, with the ISIRI emblem and writing, saying the images were “other evidence” that the missile was Iranian.

Others drew a comparison between Allen and former US secretary of state Colin Powell, who famously held up a test tube at the UN Security Council claiming that it was “evidence” that the then-regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, only to be proven wrong after the US invaded Iraq.

Former US official raises suspicions, too

Even Wendy Sherman, the former US undersecretary of state, raised suspicions as to the incumbent American administration’s anti-Iran claims.

“The US 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.

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