The White House expressed concern about a potential Iranian attack after American intelligence agencies observed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stocking boats in the Persian Gulf with missiles. American officials worried that the IRGC planned to use the missiles against American naval ships. The State Department evacuated the American embassy and an American consulate in Iraq in response to the threat. However, European, Iraqi, and some American officials argue that Iran only intended the deployment as a defensive move. One image of a small boat carrying an Iranian missile was declassified but the image has not been released by the Defense Department.