Top Biden aides are briefed on the mysterious illnesses plaguing U.S. diplomats and spies.

Politics|Top Biden aides are briefed connected the mysterious illnesses plaguing U.S. diplomats and spies.

President Biden’s apical aides were told connected Friday that experts studying the mysterious illnesses affecting scores of diplomats, spies and their household members were inactive struggling to find grounds to backmost up the starring theory, that microwave attacks are being launched by Russian agents.

The study came successful an unusual, classified gathering called by the manager of nationalist intelligence, Avril D. Haines, according to respective elder medication officials who spoke connected the information of anonymity. The intent of the gathering was to measure the investigations and efforts to dainty victims of the so-called Havana syndrome — the unexplained headaches, dizziness and representation nonaccomplishment reported by scores of State Department officials, C.I.A. officers and their families.

While Mr. Biden has said astir thing publically astir the episodes, the National Security Council has begun an urgent effort to code the issue, and 2 abstracted task forces are present successful operation, one investigating the cause and led by the C.I.A. and different focused connected uncovering commercialized exertion that could observe oregon artifact attacks.

The taxable of the Friday gathering of the Joint Intelligence Community Council was confirmed connected Sunday evening by Timothy Barrett, the adjunct manager of nationalist quality for strategical communications.

“This is simply a apical precedence for the quality community,” helium said, “and we are supporting the N.S.C.-led effort to get answers, instrumentality attraction of our radical and forestall aboriginal incidents.”

The gathering included Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken; Attorney General Merrick B. Garland; the C.I.A. director, William J. Burns; and the F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray.

The high-ranking quality of the league was an denotation of however rapidly the attacks, which day to 2016, person risen from a aesculapian mystery to an urgent nationalist information issue. Biden medication officials accidental they were shocked astatine however disorganized the authorities effect was implicit the past 4 years, successful portion due to the fact that determination was nary cardinal mode for departments to stock reports of the episodes and due to the fact that galore of the targets were quality officers whose identities and locations could not beryllium revealed.

A December 2020 survey of the causes by the National Academy of Sciences concluded that microwave attacks were astir apt the cause, but Biden medication officials accidental the radical had nary entree to classified information.