CIA Director William Burns remarked that “the defence partnership between Russia and Iran right now is a useful two-way street…Russian technicians [are] working on the space launch vehicle program in Iran and other aspects of their missile programs. We've seen discussion, at least, of the possibility of the Russians providing advanced combat aircraft to Iran which expands the threat from the innocent Ukrainian civilians… the provision of advanced combat aircraft obviously creates threats to our friends in the region as well”. He further noted indications “where the Iranian leadership has hesitated about supplying ballistic missiles to the Russians, which was also on their wish list as well, partly because they were concerned not just about our reaction, but about European reactions as well”.