Israel Warns the U.S. That Iran May Be Preparing Chemical Weapons, New York Times Reports, and American Officials Are Divided Over How Seriously to Take It
Breitbart, citing the Times, says the intelligence was shared over two weeks. A regional official said Israel gave no supporting evidence, and Iran denies having such weapons.
Israel has told the United States that Iran may be preparing to use chemical weapons, Breitbart reports, citing a New York Times story published Tuesday.
The warning. Per the Times, the intelligence was shared with American officials over the past two weeks. Israeli agencies reportedly believe Iran is moving to fit ballistic missiles with chemical warheads or to smuggle such weapons abroad. Drones are also named as a possible delivery method. Israeli officials have portrayed the threat as more urgent than Iran's nuclear program.
The split. Breitbart says U.S. officials broadly agree Iran is developing chemical capabilities but differ on whether it would use them, especially without new American or Israeli strikes. Some take the warnings seriously. Others wonder whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government wants to push Washington back into large-scale operations. A regional official said Israel gave Gulf governments no supporting evidence.
The responses. Netanyahu's office said Israel "closely tracks every threat posed by the Iranian terror regime and is prepared to deal with it." Iran denies having chemical weapons. Tehran acknowledged in 2003 that it developed such capabilities during the Iran-Iraq war, and says the program was dismantled.
Military backdrop. Breitbart says U.S. Central Command has drawn up plans for renewed strikes that could begin as early as Wednesday if Trump approves. Trump confirmed U.S. forces destroyed an Iranian air-defense site on Qeshm Island, saying they watched it being built for about two months. Iran's Mohsen Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz stays closed until Iran's seven conditions are met.
Related. Our earlier report covered Trump's description of the conflict as a "very soft war."
What we could not check. We have not read the Times story or seen the underlying intelligence. Officials in the report are unnamed, and the claims are unverified.