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Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen, on Wednesday. MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP - Getty Images

Michael Stephens, a research fellow for Middle East studies at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, cautioned against over-emphasizing Iran's role in Yemen in the way the Saudis have traditionally done.

He said that while a "proxy battle" is an aspect of it of the war Saudis see their military involvement as a way to stop Iran from exploiting instability in their poorer neighbor "if you look at Yemen on the list of Iranian priorities it is really low."

During the campaign, Trump stuck to a hardline approach on Iran, and called the 2015 multinational plan to lift economic sanctions in exchange for Tehran's promise not to develop nuclear weapons "the worst deal ever negotiated."

Trump also included Iran on a

On Wednesday, Flynn underlined Trump's disapproval of the President Barack Obama agreements with Iran as "weak and ineffective."

He delivered his remarks in a surprise appearance at the daily White House press briefing. In addition to the ballistic missile tests, Flynn cited other examples of what he called Iran's "destabilizing behavior across the Middle East" a likely reference to its influence in Syria, Iraq and with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

U.N. resolutions currently do not prohibit Tehran from conducting such missile tests but

The Trump White House has not accused Tehran of breaching that resolution, but alleges it is acting "in defiance" of it.

Flynn suggested that the new administration would take a harder line on Iran in the wake of the missile test.

"Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened," Flynn said, an apparent reference to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

While it isn't clear what exactly this means, the new administration's pronouncement represents a sharp escalation in the rhetoric coming out of Washington.

If the desired effect was to get Iran to back down, the White House failed at least in the short term.

"Iran will continue to test its capabilities in ballistic missiles and Iran will not ask any country for permission in defending itself,"

But RUSI's Stephens pointed out that Iran's involvement in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq is much deeper than in Yemen.

"The concrete is drying pretty quickly on Iran's footprint across the region," he added.

A guard sits on the rubble of the house of Brig. Fouad al-Emad, an army commander loyal to the Houthis, after airstrikes destroyed it in Sanaa, Yemen, on June 15, 2015. Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

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Analysis: Trump Turns Attention to Yemen, but Is Looking at Iran - NBCNews.com