The U.S. military gave a top British general a public tongue-lashing Tuesday after he told reporters at the Pentagon that Iran does not pose a threat to coalition troops in the Middle East.

“There’s been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria,” British Army Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika, deputy commander of the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition, said Tuesday in a video press briefing from Baghdad. “We’re aware of their presence, clearly, and we monitor them along with a whole range of others because that’s the environment we’re in.” The Pentagon has increased U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf over the last week, citing “troubling and escalatory” threats from Tehran.