CIA Director William Burns addressed concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East, warning of the risk of miscalculations as tensions rise between Israel and Iran. Speaking at a conference in the United States, Burns asserted that while the U.S. intelligence community believes neither Israel nor Iran seeks “all-out conflict,” the situation remains precarious, warning that “we face the very real danger of a further regional escalation of conflict.”
Burns’ remarks come in the wake of Iran’s missile attack last week, during which Tehran rained nearly 200 ballistic missiles on the Jewish State. He noted that Israel is “weighing very carefully” how to respond to this provocation but cautioned about the potential for “misjudgments.”
“The Middle East is a place where complicated stuff happens all the time,” he added.
In assessing the recent Iranian actions, Burns pointed out that while the attack revealed some limitations in Iran’s military capabilities, it is essential to recognize that “those capabilities are still quite potent and something that not only Israel, but the United States, needs to take very seriously, too.”
Turning his attention to Iran’s nuclear program, Burns indicated that there appears to be an acceleration in its development. However, he noted that it does not seem Iran has reversed its decision to suspend the weaponization aspect of the program.
On the situation in Gaza, Burns acknowledged the difficulty in negotiating a hostage and ceasefire deal, describing these efforts as “elusive,” although he mentioned that progress has been made at times.
“What’s at stake in Gaza is shaped by political will,” he explained. “In the end, it’s not just about brackets in texts or creative formulas when you’re trying to negotiate a hostage and ceasefire deal. It’s about leaders who ultimately have to recognize that enough is enough, that perfect is rarely on the menu, especially in the Middle East.”
He concluded by stressing the necessity for leaders to make “hard choices and some compromises in the interest of a longer-term strategic stability.”
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4 Responses
The only “misjudgments” that have been made here are the Biden (mis-) administration’s with their meddling in how Israel should conduct its way for survival.
Except that it is morally decrepid to push Israel to make any concessions. That’s been the tune that America has played to Israel for a few generations. It never worked. Just caused Israel losses. Emboldened, and often even subsidized continued terror. You cannot negotiate with terrorists. If the “Intelligence” label of your agency means anything, you know that. History proves it at the 100% level, not statistical majority. The only way to deal with these terror regimes is to eradicate them. They do not deserve the dignity of humanity, not Hezbollah, not Hamas, not Houthis, not Iran. None of them can be trusted. Sure, diplomacy sounds nice, and these animals will sit across the table from Israeli negotiators and agree to cease fires, return of hostages, etc. But they pride themselves on dishonesty, and have never kept their commitments. Stop being fooled by the rhetoric about “diplomatic solutions”.
Countries who don’t war don’t shoot over 180 ballistic missiles at other countries and talk about destroying them.
“What’s at stake in Gaza is shaped by political will…” no kidding! it’s “shaped” by the needs of the obama, er, harris, presidential campaign – at least as far as the united snakes is concerned. for israel, it’s about peace and security, and putting an end to the continual terrorism of hamas.