Speculation has abounded over the nature of CIA Director John Ratcliffe's surprise Tuesday trip to Moscow and what was conveyed to top Kremlin intelligence officials.The 'official' Washington narrative of what was behind the trip was issued on Wednesday in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, which laid out Ratcliffe delivered a "warning to Russia not to attack NATO countries, according to people briefed on the visit."Since then, media reports and pundits have mused that nearby small 'eastern flank' countries like Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania could be prime targets for some kind of Russian military action, at a moment Europe's support to Kiev has steadily ramped up.Surprisingly, on Thursday former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves (president: 2006 – 2016), who remains influential voice in the European security debate and has served on an EU task force, told a European outlet that the CIA director's meeting was more likely centered on the Iran conflict and not on warning against attacking Europe.Ilves in a freshly published interview with EuroNews said he had "severe doubts" that concerns over aggression against the Baltic states were the reason for Ratcliffe's visit."What is the real problem for the United States right now? The real problem is Iran, the fact that the Russians are giving targeting information to the Iranians," he said."Those are real problems for the United States, and that would be sufficient to warrant the director of the CIA to go to Moscow to tell them to back off."US intelligence and Trump officials for months have alleged that Russia is likely helping Iranian forces with identifying and locating US military assets in the region. At times throughout Operation Epic Fury, Tehran appears to have even targeted CIA stations.The bulk of American military assets and bases in the Gulf countries have suffered severe damage earlier in the conflict, resulting in a Pentagon troop drawback to safer areas. This is indeed a big deal if it is the case that Russia or China (or both) have handed the Iranians intel to help push back American bases and forces.Former Estonian leader Ilves further explained that in reality there had been "no change in the US’s threat assessment for the Baltic states."Yesterday CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow. The visit was brief but quickly fueled widespread discussion and speculation.