Americas

CIA director says Russia and Iran turned his hair gray

Working as the US ambassador to Russia was so stressful, it caused CIA Director William Burns’ hair to lose its color, the US’s newly appointed intelligence boss says. He added the rest of his gray hair has to do with negotiations with the Iranians over it nuclear program.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Burns claimed he acquired “most of the gray locks” during his work in Moscow – a post he held from 2005 to 2008.

“The rest of my gray hair has to do with negotiations with the Iranians, especially the secret negotiations in 2013” over nuclear weapons, he explained, referring to the interim Joint Plan of Action agreement inked that year between Iran and six other nations to ease embargoes on Tehran in exchange for curbing its atomic program.

Burns also commented on concerns over the Russian-Ukrainian border.

The CIA director remarked that he “would never underestimate President Vladimir Putin’s appetite for risk” when it comes to Kiev.

“It’s so important to respond to that with a strong mix of deterrence as well as the possibility of diplomacy,” he added.

The Kremlin has consistently denied accusations made by several Western outlets and officials in recent weeks that Russia is masterminding an invasion of its neighbor. Kremlin Spokespman, Dmitry Peskov, has slammed the allegations as groundless.

“This hysteria, which is being stirred up now in the Anglo-Saxon media, in the Ukrainian media, and is supported by Ukrainian politicians led by the head of state [President Volodymyr Zelensky], is absolutely unacceptable,” the Kremlin press secretary said.

Moscow mocked reports by US news site Politico in early November that claimed Russian troops were being stationed in increasing numbers near the Ukrainian border. However, satellite imagery published alongside the article purported to show Russian hardware piling up near the city of Yelnya, hundreds of kilometers from Ukraine, and closer to neighboring Belarus.

A video conference between Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden has ended after just over two hours. The Kremlin had pledged the leaders would talk “for as long as it takes” to resolve their issues.

The much-anticipated video “summit” on Tuesday touched on a number of topics, including the American accusation that Russia is amassing troops to “invade” Ukraine, which Moscow has dismissed as “fake news”.

A White House readout of the call said Biden voiced “deep concerns” of the US over Russia’s “escalation of forces surrounding Ukraine” and threatened “strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation”. Ransomware and “regional issues such as Iran” were also brought up.

Biden is expected to contact Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as the leaders of UK, France, Germany and Italy after his conversation with Putin, according to the White House. His national security adviser Jake Sullivan is scheduled to brief reporters on the call later in the day.

The only live meeting between Putin and Biden since the latter took office was in June. The Geneva summit was hailed as a potential breakthrough, but progress has since failed to materialize.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

Official: Iran has become regional economic, industrial hub

Iran’s Minister of Industries, Mines and Commerce Abbas Aliabadi says Iran has turned into a…

11 hours ago

Russia: US prolonging Ukraine conflict, UK blocking peace deal

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Ukraine abandoned a draft peace treaty with Russia in…

11 hours ago

UN expresses concern over students arrests at US universities

The UN human rights office has voiced concern about the detention of hundreds of students…

11 hours ago

Iranian students rally in solidarity with pro-Palestine American peers

The members of the academic board, students and employees of Tehran University held a rally…

13 hours ago

Russia says repelled Ukraine drone raid on energy infrastructure

Russia repelled a wave of attempted Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries and energy infrastructures…

16 hours ago

Israel destroyed 70% of northern Gaza water wells

The Israeli army has destroyed 70% of water wells in the northern Gaza Strip amid…

16 hours ago