Iranian missile and drone attacks have caused "unprecedented damage" to US intelligence facilities and surveillance equipment across the Middle East, NBC News reported on Tuesday. Citing four people with knowledge of the matter, the report said the attacks damaged buildings and intelligence-gathering equipment used by the CIA and other US spy agencies. The damage is expected to require billions of dollars to repair or replace, said the report. The scale of the destruction is described as greater than any damage previously sustained by US intelligence agencies, the sources said. Read More: US cannot achieve its goals through economic pressure: Iranian president Tensions in the Middle East have heightened since the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran in February. In response, Tehran retaliated with strikes in regional countries hosting US assets. Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June under Pakistani mediation aimed at ending their ...
US CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence officials during his visit to Moscow on Tuesday but did not meet President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin had been briefed on the outcome of Ratcliffe's talks, which come as the war in Ukraine is escalating and as efforts to reach a lasting peace deal between the US and Iran have stalled. Peskov declined to disclose what had been discussed or to provide any further details, however. Read: Kremlin says British missile help for Ukraine 'adds fuel to the fire' "All I can tell you is that there have been contacts via the security services. I can tell you that there have been no meetings with the Russian president. Naturally, President Putin is kept informed of everything without delay," said Peskov. Asked if visits by such senior US officials could help improve the dire state of US-Russia relations,...