U.S. Said to Plan Sanctions Tied to Iran's Missile Program

The Obama administration, which is implementing a landmark accord aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program, was criticized earlier this month by Republican Senator Bob Corker for a lax response to Iran’s possible launch of a ballistic missile and has said it would take appropriate action. a U.S. official said Iran launched a highly provocative rocket test on Saturday near its warships and commercial traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the Associated Press reported. In the first Iranian response, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif denied on Thursday that a missile test was carried out. “False” reports represent a “psychological operation,” state radio cited him as saying.