Some American officials doubt Israel's claims that Iran is considering using chemical weapons against its rivals, and see them as a pressure campaign by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to push President Trump to renew the war on Iran, the New York Times reported. The Gulf governments briefed by Israel found the allegations not serious, and Israel did not share evidence, according to a regional official. Israeli officials have presented the chemical threat as more urgent than Iran's nuclear program, but the Israeli Home Command does not make the preparation of chemical weapons a central part of its exercises, according to two senior officers in the unit. Iran has denied that it has chemical weapons.

Some American officials doubt Israel's claims that Iran is considering using chemical weapons against its rivals, and see them as a pressure campaign by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to push President Trump to renew the war on Iran, the New York Times reported. The Gulf governments briefed by Israel found the allegations not serious, and Israel did not share evidence, according to a regional official. Israeli officials have presented the chemical threat as more urgent than Iran's nuclear program, but the Israeli Home Command does not make the preparation of chemical weapons a central part of its exercises, according to two senior officers in the unit. Iran has denied that it has chemical weapons.