CIA Director Burns Holds Talks in Israel, with Focus on Iran

CIA director William Burns held talks in Israel on Wednesday with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. (Getty Images)
CIA director William Burns held talks in Israel on Wednesday with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. (Getty Images)
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CIA Director Burns Holds Talks in Israel, with Focus on Iran

CIA director William Burns held talks in Israel on Wednesday with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. (Getty Images)
CIA director William Burns held talks in Israel on Wednesday with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. (Getty Images)

US Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns held talks in Israel on Wednesday with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, with Iran high on their agenda, an Israeli statement said.

Regional tensions have risen over an attack on July 29 on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman that Israel, the United States and Britain blamed on Tehran.

Iran has denied any involvement in the suspected drone strike in which two crew members - a Briton and a Romanian - were killed.

A statement issued by Bennett's office said the Israeli leader held talks with Burns in Tel Aviv, where "they discussed the situation in the Middle East, with emphasis on Iran, and possibilities for expanding and deepening regional cooperation".

Announcing Burns's visit, the statement said he met on Tuesday with David Barnea, the new head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, to discuss Iran's nuclear program "and other regional challenges".

Burns, who was sworn in as CIA director in March, was expected to meet Palestinian officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas, in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.



Russia Captures UK National Fighting Alongside Ukraine in the Kursk Region

Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
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Russia Captures UK National Fighting Alongside Ukraine in the Kursk Region

Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)

The Russian military captured a British national fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in Russia's partially occupied Kursk region, state news agency Tass reported Monday, citing unidentified sources in the law enforcement.
The man was identified by Tass and other media as James Scott Rhys Anderson. Tass quoted him as saying that he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years and then joined the International Legion of Ukraine, formed early on in Russia's nearly 3-year-old war against its neighbor.
In Ukraine, Anderson reportedly served as an instructor for Ukrainian troops and was deployed to the Kursk region against his will. Tass published a video of the man saying in English that he doesn’t want to be “here.”
The report couldn’t be independently verified, but if confirmed it could be the first publicly known case of a Western national captured on Russian soil while fighting for Ukraine.
The UK Embassy in Moscow and the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.