The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from a laboratory, according to a newly released assessment.

While the agency considers a lab origin more probable than a natural one, the report assigns "low confidence" to this conclusion, acknowledging deficiencies in the available evidence.

The assessment, declassified and released on Saturday, was conducted at the behest of the Biden administration and former CIA Director William Burns. President Donald Trump's CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, who was sworn in on Thursday, ordered its release. The report does not cite any new intelligence, relying instead on fresh analyses of existing information, including the virus's scientific properties and conditions at Chinese virology labs.

The nuanced finding reflects ongoing uncertainty, with the CIA maintaining that both lab-related and natural origin scenarios remain plausible. “The agency continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible,” the CIA said in a statement.

The origins of COVID-19 have been a contentious issue, with earlier investigations split over whether the virus emerged naturally or accidentally leaked from a lab. This latest assessment is unlikely to resolve the debate, as intelligence officials highlight the lack of cooperation from Chinese authorities.

The report has sparked political reactions in the United States. Republican Senator Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, praised the assessment. "I’m pleased the CIA concluded in the final days of the Biden administration that the lab-leak theory is the most plausible explanation," Cotton said. He also commended Ratcliffe for declassifying the findings, calling for accountability from China.

“Now, the most important thing is to make China pay for unleashing a plague on the world,” Cotton added.

Chinese officials have dismissed the report as politically motivated and without merit. “We firmly oppose the politicization and stigmatization of the source of the virus, and once again call on everyone to respect science and stay away from conspiracy theories,” said Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China’s U.S. embassy.

The debate over the origins of COVID-19 continues to carry significant geopolitical implications, as nations grapple with the pandemic's aftermath. However, intelligence officials caution that the question of the virus’s origin may never be definitively resolved due to ongoing barriers to evidence and cooperation. (ILKHA)