The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has said that the virus that has leaked from China is highly likely to have escaped from a laboratory.
Al Jazeera reported on January 27 that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said that it believes that the Chinese virus is not a natural phenomenon but rather a product of a Chinese laboratory. Although the assessment is not considered credible, the report says that the assessment was ordered during the Biden administration and completed before John Ratcliffe was sworn in as CIA director. Ratcliffe said that investigating the origin of the Chinese virus would be a priority for the CIA, which he heads.
After the CIA announced the findings, three other US agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Energy, also supported the theory that the virus came from a laboratory. In response, the Chinese Embassy in Washington rejected the CIA’s conclusion, calling it misguided and politically motivated. A Chinese spokesman also said that determining the origin of the virus should be based on scientific research, not political speculation.