‘A Few Thoughts Expressed That Can Shed Light on His Objectives’: Sargsyan on the U.S. Intelligence Director

International relations expert Suren Sargsyan has commented on the visit of William Burns, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States, to the region. He wrote on his Facebook page:

“After leaving the South Caucasus, William Burns participated in the Aspen Security Forum. He expressed several interesting thoughts that could shed light on his objectives for visiting our region.

‘Iran's nuclear policy is seriously concerning us at this stage. After the U.S. withdrew from the agreement and Iran reneged on its commitments, Tehran has increased its ability to produce enriched uranium necessary for nuclear weapons. Now they can accomplish this not in months but in weeks. Their drones and missile program pose a serious threat to us in the Middle East; they have the largest arsenal of missiles in the region.”

After Biden's Middle East visit, he hopes that Israel and Saudi Arabia will work more closely against the Iranian threat and looks forward to further normalization between Israel and the Arab monarchies. ‘We believe that the Arab temptation to protect their partnership with the United States through rapprochement with Russia has been diminished against the backdrop of Russian actions in Ukraine and intentions to purchase Russian weapons. Our priorities have changed, but we are not leaving the region and are not giving Russia and China niches to exploit.’

As I noted, this visit is most likely a quest for new opportunities to counterbalance Russia and Iran in the region.’