The C.I.A. concluded that most cases of Havana syndrome are not caused by Russia or another foreign country.
C.I.A. officials said that most of the cases reported to the government can be explained by environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or stress, rather than a sustained global campaign by a foreign power.
The C.I.A. is looking into two dozen unexplained cases. Those cases offer the best chance of finding out who is responsible for some of the unexplained health incidents that have plagued American diplomats and C.I.A. personnel in Havana and Vienna.
A significant number of others remain unexplained, the official said.
The idea that Russia, China or Cuba were responsible for attacking hundreds of diplomats around the world was never backed up by any evidence. The F.B.I., the Pentagon and others continue to investigate if a foreign power was involved in a smaller number of incidents. Some of the incidents in Havana beginning in 2016 and some in Vienna in 2021, along with other individual incidents, remain a focus of such investigations.
Current and former officials who have been battling chronic ailments for years without being given a clear explanation were dissatisfied with the interim findings. A group of victims said that the C.I.A. interim findings cannot be the final word on the matter. The victims said the findings were a betrayal of faith.
To scores of dedicated public servants, their families and their colleagues, the new report from the C.I.A. has a ring of finality and repudiation.
William J. Burns, the director of the C.I.A., said the agency was pursuing a complex issue with "analytic rigor, sound tradecraft and compassion."
Mr. Burns said that they were not done with the interim findings. We will continue to investigate and provide access to world-class care for those who need it.
The agency has never accused Russia or another power of being responsible, but some officials, particularly in the Pentagon, said they believed there was evidence of the involvement of Moscow's spy agencies. When Mr. Burns traveled to Moscow in December to warn Russia against invading Ukraine, he raised the issue of the health incidents and said if Russia was found responsible, there would be consequences.
A former C.I.A. officer who suffered Havana syndrome symptoms on a trip to Moscow said it was critical to continue to investigate the cases that remain unexplained. He said that the C.I.A. should not return to a culture where victims were treated badly.
It took 10 years to find Osama bin Laden. I would urge patience by the intelligence community and the Department of Defense.
The victim who asked that his name not be used because of his work for the agency said that the government had made a mistake by pushing for more people to report ill health or unexplained symptoms. The victim said that the extraneous cases made it harder for the analysts to focus on the real cases.
A government official briefed on the findings said that the effort to bring in large numbers of reports was not a mistake because it allowed the United States to speed up treatment for people suffering from symptoms. The effort helped provide treatment for people with previously undiscovered conditions.
C.I.A. officials said that the majority of Havana syndrome incidents were not the work of a powerful power. Confidence in that assessment ranged from low to high.
An expert panel has been looking at classified information about the incidents. The panel, which has provided its findings to the government but is still finishing its report, explored technologies that could result in the symptoms being reported.
It is expected that the report will give information on whether microwaves or directed energy could be to blame for some of the unexplained incidents.
A directed energy weapon is the hypothesis that a number of victims believe is most likely. Some current or retired officials believe that government investigators have dismissed evidence they have collected.
The C.I.A. was unable to find any evidence that a directed energy device was responsible for the incident, nor was it able to intercept communications from a foreign government that suggested the use of such a device.
An agency official said that no potential explanation was being eliminated for the cases still being investigated.
Some of the cases that have been resolved had medical explanations, while others had environmental causes, though C.I.A. officials did not offer examples. Some of the cases may have been related to the high stress of working at the C.I.A.
Stress is thought to have contributed to psychosomatic reactions or so-called functional illness. Many victims found those explanations offensive.
Congress gave the government until April to come up with a payment plan for victims of Havana syndrome. It's not clear how the interim findings will affect the process. C.I.A. officials would only say that they were working on implementing the law and that they were aware of congressional intent to support officers reporting symptoms.
The victims hoped the interim report was not motivated by the government's desire to deny claims made under the act.
The most recent string of ailments began at the end of 2016 when C.I.A. officers and diplomats working in the U.S. Embassy in Havana reported strange sounds, pressure and then various ailments.
There were many reports in China and Vienna. Russia, India and Vietnam are some of the countries that have reported.
A team from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that the most likely cause of injuries was targeted microwaves. Russian research into directed energy weapons and the ability of microwaves to cause brain injuries were reported by victims of the attacks. Critics said that the effort was incomplete because the team had not been given access to classified information.
Many senior Trump administration officials, including leaders at the C.I.A., viewed the incidents skeptically, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to conclude that the mysterious incidents were attacks or that Russia was behind them. Some of the officials were influenced by the F.B.I. report that concluded the ailments were a kind of functional illness.
The Biden administration took office with Mr. Burns and others promising to improve treatment for victims of health incidents. New efforts were made to study what had happened. The intelligence agencies formed a new scientific review panel to look at all of the evidence. A veteran of the hunt for bin Laden led the new cell formed by the C.I.A.
Some 200 unexplained cases were the focus of the agency last year.
Two dozen are the focus of the agency.
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