The U.S.-Iran War Hit The Six Month Mark. Russia Believes Washington Has Been Weakened By The Conflict.

Russia believes the U.S. has been weakened by the war in Iran, giving the country a chance to escalate attacks against Washington's interests in Europe, according to a new report.

Citing classified U.S. intelligence, The Washington Post noted that different reports claimed that the U.S. is experiencing severe shortages of equipment and ammunition as a result of its operations against Tehran, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz.

The outlet went on to note that stockpiles of key weapons are almost depleted, including Tomahawk cruise missiles and the short-range Army Tactical Missile System.

One person familiar with the assessment said CIA Director John Ratcliffe's unannounced trip to Russia last week was "less about Putin being in a corner" because the army has not managed to make substantial gains in the war against Ukraine and "more because Russia assesses we are depleted and can't intervene."

Ratcliffe said that if Russia kept escalating, that could push President Donald Trump toward Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

NATO countries have expressed concern that Russia could escalate attacks in this context. Trump, however, said he's not worried.

"There is no problem," Trump said in a brief conversation with Axios. He went on to say that the unannounced visit from CIA Director John Ratcliffe was "standard business."

"Ratcliffe sees his Russian counterpart once every six months or once every year. They have a very good relationship. There was no message and there was nothing unusual," he added.

Asked if the U.S. had delivered a warning to counterpart Vladimir Putin, Trump didn't comment but claimed Moscow is "not going to attack NATO territory."

The remarks stand in contrast with reports claiming that Ratcliffe's trip in fact sought to convey such a warning.

Different NATO countries said they are taking measures to protect critical infrastructure against a Russian false flag attack that could be used to justify an attack.

Reuters detailed earlier this month that Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Estonia have made claims of such nature. The former said Moscow is considering the stage attack and the other three warned of acts of sabotage.

"We are not naive, we see the information, we read between the lines and we are doing our homework," Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told the outlet.

"We are increasing the security of our critical infrastructure, we constantly exchange information with our intelligence on what to do next," he added.

Another recent report claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering a limited assault on a NATO country to test the alliance.

The assessment from U.S. intelligence officials claimed such a scenario could take place in the next few years, with another possibility being a cyberattack.