IRAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Iran acknowledged for the first time on Monday [9-2-19] that an explosion had occurred at a satellite launch site in the country’s north after images of the aftermath of the blast circulated last week. An Iranian government official said the explosion was caused by a technical error during a test launch. The information came days after President Trump prompted confusion when he posted a message on Twitter referring to the explosion — accompanied by an image of the site that some suspected was once classified — noting that ‘the United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident.’ Ali Rabiei, a spokesman for the Iranian government, confirmed on Monday that an explosion had taken place at a launchpad at the Imam Khomeini Space Center, in a statement reported by the Iranian state news outlet IRNA.”
–Megan Specia, “Iran Acknowledges Space Center Blast, Days After Trump Shares Revealing Image,” The New York Times online, September 2, 2019