Israel has shared intelligence with the United States asserting that Iran is considering the use of chemical weapons against its adversaries, a claim that has been met with alarm by some American officials and deep skepticism by others, according to U.S. and regional officials cited by The New York Times.

The intelligence was also shared with officials in Gulf countries. Several of those officials doubted that Iran was developing plans to use chemical weapons and believe Israel is trying to push the United States and its partners back into a more intense phase of the war.

A regional official told the Times that Israeli officials presented assessments suggesting Iran was working to make its chemical weapons operational without providing supporting evidence, and Gulf governments reportedly found the claims unconvincing.

The disclosure has exposed a fracture inside the US government. Some American officials see the Israeli intelligence as part of a pressure campaign by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to persuade the Trump administration to return to major combat operations against Iran. Others argue the warnings should be taken seriously, given a recent array of warnings about Iran’s preparations to attack American interests.

For some officials, the allegations have revived memories of the flawed US intelligence assessments in 2002 that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction — claims used to justify the 2003 invasion. While US intelligence agencies have long monitored Iran’s chemical weapons capabilities, officials remain divided over whether Tehran has the capacity to deploy such weapons effectively or would ever choose to use them.

Iran has repeatedly denied possessing chemical weapons, previously dismissing such accusations as part of an Israeli psychological warfare campaign. In 2003, Iran acknowledged it had developed chemical capabilities during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s but said it later dismantled them.

The intelligence dispute comes as Washington and Tehran explore diplomatic options to prevent renewed fighting, while US forces continue building up their military presence in the region. The Times report noted that the US military is preparing for possible renewed strikes on Iran as early as Wednesday, pending authorization by President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu’s office said in response to the report that “Israel is closely monitoring every threat emanating from the Iranian terrorist regime and is prepared to take action in response”.