CIA chief pressed Russia to cut Iran ties during secret Moscow trip: report

Ratcliffe also reinforced to Russian intelligence officials that the United States remained committed to NATO’s Article 5 and warned Moscow against attacking alliance members, the Journal reported.

PUTIN SEES US WEAKENED BY IRAN WARRussian President Vladimir Putin views the United States as weakened by the six-month war with Iran, creating an opportunity for Moscow to step up pressure on American interests and allies in Europe, the Washington Post reported Thursday, citing two people familiar with US intelligence.

The assessment preceded CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s secret trip to Moscow this week, where he warned Russian officials against significantly escalating the war in Ukraine,. One person familiar with the talks said Ratcliffe argued that a major Russian escalation would backfire by pushing President Donald Trump closer to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The intelligence assessment comes amid concerns over depleted US military stockpiles after the prolonged Iran campaign, including shortages of Patriot air-defense interceptors, Tomahawk cruise missiles and other weapons, the Post reported., the people familiar with the intelligence did not provide details on how it was collected or how confident CIA analysts were in its accuracy.

Trump on Thursday downplayed concerns that Putin could move against NATO members, saying: “He’s not going to be attacking a NATO territory.”