Suzanne Maloney:

Well, there are real concerns voiced by members of Congress and other groups in Washington about whether or not there is the possibility that the Trump administration is trying to hype the threat from Iran. I think realistically we know that Iran has been responsible for a number of attacks against American presence in the region over the years. At least 1,000 troops in Iraq have died as a result of Iranian-provided IEDs or Iranian assistance to Shia militias there.

There's a long history of Iran's support to terrorist organizations across the region. And there was a real expectation that after the Trump administration walked away from the nuclear deal that in fact the Iranians might retaliate. So there is reason to be skeptical about what the Trump administration is putting out there in terms of the threat perception, but there's also reason to believe that the Iranians are prepared to make the United States pay a price for the pressure that Washington is exacting on Tehran at this time.