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CIA's director William Burns said in a recent interview that Israel is still "weighing very carefully" its response to Iran, as reported by CNN.
Israel has been expecting to conduct a retaliatory response after Iran launched direct strikes earlier in October, wherein a barrage of over 100 missiles took over the country. This action heightens the possibility of an all-out war in the Middle East and west Asia region. Central Intelligence Agency's Director William Burns said on Monday that the risk of an unintended escalation in the Middle East looms as "a very real danger, "Even though the US maintains its assessment that neither Iran nor Israel "is looking for an all-out conflict", he told CNN. Israel is "weighing very carefully how it's going to respond to the most recent Iranian ballistic missile attack," Burns said at a national security conference in Sea Island, Georgia, declining to speculate on what form that retaliation might take. "I think all of us are acutely aware of the consequences of different forms of strikes and consequences for the global energy market and the global economy," he said. US President Joe Biden said last week that he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear facilities, but it is not clear whether the US has successfully persuaded Israel to take that option off the table; markets have also been on edge due to the possibility that Israel could choose to strike oil facilities in Iran. In the national address marking the first anniversary of October 7 massacre, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed for repercussions towards the perpetrators of crime. He said, "We will continue to fight, and united--we will win. And when we win, not only for our sake but for the sake of future generations and for all humanity." On Iran, Burns said, the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei continues to be the "ultimate decision-maker," and said his agency has not detected "any kind of dramatic change of tone there." CNN also noted that Burns said he continues to hold out some hope that a successful deal can be reached between Israel and Hamas that could result in the release of the remaining living hostages. But those negotiations, he said, have "been pushing a very big rock up a very steep hill." The US has time and again reiterated its support for Israel's right to defend itself. Issuing a public statement on the one year anniversary of the attacks on Israel, America's Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin through a post on the social media platform, X, stated that "The Department of Defense will not flinch in our commitment to Israel's security, to combatting terrorism by Hamas and other fanatical groups, to deterring further aggression from Iran, and to working with our allies and partners to promote stability and peace in the Middle East." (ANI)
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