The director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, warned that some “misunderstandings” threaten to escalate between Israel and Iran in the coming weeks.
“We face the very real danger of further escalation of the conflict in the region… You can see the potential for unintentional confrontations, misunderstandings, actions that take on a life of their own… And I think that is the challenge for the president. and to policymakers on the American side to help navigate the coming weeks.” – Bloomberg quotes Burns speaking at the Cipher Brief Threat conference.
According to the CIA director, the leaders of Israel or Iran are not seeking a full-scale conflict, but the threat of escalation remains.
He believes Israeli leaders are “very carefully weighing” how they plan to respond to the recent Iranian attack. Burns says Israel is ‘taking into account’ concerns expressed by US president joe biden and other high-ranking politicians. He also drew attention to the possible consequences of various types of strikes, including for the global energy market and the global economy.
