Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted that “new intelligence from Iraq indicates that Israeli agent-provocateurs are plotting attacks against Americans – putting an outgoing Trump in a bind with a fake casus belli. Be careful of a trap, President Trump. Any fireworks will backfire badly”. An Israeli minister called Zarif’s claim “total nonsense”, adding: “It is a warning sign that Iran is taking aim at Israel looking for excuses to lash out at Israel, and therefore we need to have our finger on the pulse and be at the highest state of alert”.