Missile images stoke argument about Iran threat

The White House escalated its warnings about Iran based on photographs of fully assembled missiles in the Persian Gulf, American officials said. The images of the missiles, which had been placed on small boats by Iranian paramilitary forces, were said to have prompted fears of potential attacks on U.S. naval vessels, commercial ships and American troops in Iraq.

But others — including Europeans, Iraqis and members of both parties in Congress — said the moves could be defensive acts against what Tehran sees as provocations by Washington.

The reliability of the underlying intelligence has provoked fierce debate among factions in the White House, the Pentagon and the C.I.A., and from U.S. allies, reflecting a deep mistrust of President Trump’s national security team.