German Intelligence Assessment Points to Lab-Leak Origin for SARS-CoV-2

The German government cites foreign relations concerns as it withholds classified findings suggesting a high probability of a laboratory origin for the virus.

• The German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) assessed in 2020 an 80-95% probability that SARS-CoV-2 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
• The findings, based on public data and the classified Operation 'Saaremaa,' remain confidential under the German government's directive.
• Media reports reveal the BND's conclusions, reigniting global debates over the lab-leak theory and its implications for scientific and intelligence communities.
• The German government has refused to comment on the BND’s findings, citing the protection of foreign relations, and has not initiated investigations into potential leaks of classified information.
• Virologist Christian Drosten, who previously dismissed the lab-leak theory, is now part of a team reviewing the intelligence findings on the origins of the virus.

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