CIA Director: Regardless of the outcome of the Vienna talks, Iran will remain a threat to the Middle East

The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, says that regardless of the outcome of the Vienna talks between Iran and world powers to revive the JCPOA, the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to be a threat throughout the Middle East.

William Burns said at a meeting of the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, March 8, that the Iranian regime, in addition to nuclear and missile issues, is also a threat to the entire Middle East and America's allies in the region.

He added that regardless of the outcome of the Vienna talks, threats from Iran will continue to be a challenge for the region.

William Burns emphasized that he was expressing this assessment based on the facts and as a result of his personal experience in conducting negotiations with Iranian officials over the years.

He is referring to the negotiations he held with Iranian officials, including Ali Akbar Salehi, in Muscat, the capital of Oman, while he was the US Deputy Secretary of State in the administration of former US President Barack Obama, which led to the JCPOA after a few years.

William Burns emphasizes the continued threats from Iran to the entire Middle East, while he is known as one of the senior American officials supporting the revival of the JCPOA.

His testimony before the House Intelligence Committee comes as White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on March 6 that the Vienna talks had “made a lot of progress.” The United States is indirectly involved in the Vienna talks but is considered the main party to revive the JCPOA.

In her remarks, Ms. Psaki described some unexpected problems created by Russia on the path to revitalizing the JCPOA as part of the "difficult issues" that "always occur at the end of a difficult process."

US intelligence community report on Iran's "threat"

Hours before the CIA director's appearance at the House Intelligence Committee meeting, the US intelligence community released its annual report on global threats, including the dangers posed by Iran.

The report states that Iran's confrontation with the United States and Washington's allies in the Middle East is a vital struggle for the Tehran regime.

The report says that the Iranian regime's long-standing ambitions to assume regional leadership have not stopped.

According to this report, the Iranian government uses its expanding nuclear program, weapons projects, and proxy forces, while simultaneously employing diplomacy, to advance its goals.

The US intelligence community consists of 16 intelligence agencies, including the CIA, FBI, and the National Security Agency.

The report assesses that Iran, either directly or through proxy groups, threatens Americans, especially in the Middle East, while at the same time continuing its other goal, which it has pursued for the past decade, of recruiting and establishing networks within the United States.

The United States has recently emphasized that, in addition to Iran's increased cyber activities against US national security, the Islamic Republic's intelligence agencies have even been working to kidnap and assassinate Iranian activists or US officials.

US intelligence agencies have exposed plots by the Iranian government's intelligence arms to kidnap American-Iranian political activist Masih Alinejad.

The Washington Examiner also reported this week that the Revolutionary Guards were plotting to assassinate former White House national security adviser John Bolton.

The new annual report from the US intelligence community also describes the Iranian regime's moves that pose a threat to Israel.

In their report, US intelligence agencies, referring to the inauguration of Ebrahim Raisi as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, wrote that this has prompted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to accelerate the long-term vision he has set for his government.

According to the report, the regime's leader's goal is to transform his government into an Islamic power to defend "global Muslim ideals" while relying on a technocratic government within the country.

Source: Radio Farda