A CIA refusal to confirm or deny records on interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has revived debate about its nature. While NASA insists it is a natural comet, Harvard scientist Avi Loeb points to unexplained behaviours. CIA response has fuelled speculation.
A rare and cryptic response from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has reignited global debate over 3I/ATLAS, a mysterious interstellar object currently moving through the solar system.
NASA has repeatedly said the object is an ordinary comet, an icy body releasing gas and dust as it travels near the Sun. However, intelligence officials have now refused to say whether they investigated the possibility that the object could be something far more unusual.
The CIA's reply has raised fresh questions, especially because the agency chose not to clearly confirm or deny whether it holds any information on the object.
Related Articles
What is 3I/ATLAS?
3I/ATLAS was detected in July 2025 and identified as an interstellar object, meaning it came from outside our solar system. Such objects are extremely rare and difficult to study.
NASA has said the object shows no signs of being artificial and no evidence of alien life. According to the space agency, it behaves like a natural comet and poses no threat to Earth.
Still, some scientists and researchers have argued that several features of 3I/ATLAS do not fully match what is normally seen in comets.
The FOIA request that triggered the CIA reply
In November 2025, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was submitted to the CIA asking whether the agency had investigated 3I/ATLAS.
FOIA is a US law that allows anyone, journalists, researchers, or citizens, to ask government agencies for official records. Agencies are required to respond, but they can refuse to share details if the information is classified or sensitive.
The request was filed by John Greenewald Jr, a long-time UFO and government transparency researcher, according to Daily Mail.
What the CIA actually said
Instead of giving a clear answer, the CIA issued what is known as a 'Glomar response'. The agency said it could 'neither deny nor confirm the existence or nonexistence of records' related to 3I/ATLAS.
A Glomar response is used when even admitting that records exist could reveal classified information. In simple terms, the government is saying: we are not going to say anything at all.
This response does not confirm that 3I/ATLAS is alien technology. However, it also does not rule out that the CIA looked into it.
NASA's firm position on the object
NASA has publicly dismissed any suggestion that 3I/ATLAS could be extraterrestrial in origin. At a press conference on November 19, 2025, NASA officials said clearly that the object was a natural comet. NASA administrator Nicky Fox stated that scientists had found nothing 'that would lead us to believe it was anything other than a comet.'
However, critics said NASA's announcement raised more questions than it answered. The agency released blurry images of the object, which were widely mocked online.
Many observers pointed out that amateur astronomers using common telescopes had captured clearer images of 3I/ATLAS while it was still more than 200 million miles away.
Avi Loeb challenges the official explanation
Harvard astrophysicist Professor Avi Loeb has continued to challenge NASA's conclusion. Loeb claims that 3I/ATLAS has shown at least 12 strange behaviours that scientists have not been able to explain as natural. These include:
- A bright 'anti-tail' pointing opposite to where a comet’s tail should be
- Sudden course changes that appear to break normal gravitational rules
- Signs of a nickel shell, a metal often used in spacecraft to protect against heat
Loeb said it was surprising that the CIA would treat information about the object as sensitive when NASA had already declared it harmless.
What Loeb believes the CIA response suggests
As 3I/ATLAS moves closer to Jupiter on March 16, Loeb says the CIA’s response suggests something important. He believes the intelligence community may have secretly studied the object as a possible hostile threat, even if the chance was extremely small.
Loeb has previously described this as a potential 'black swan event', a rare and unexpected situation that could have enormous consequences. He said that if even a tiny chance existed that the object was artificial alien technology, the impact on humanity would be historic.
CIA silence fuels online speculation
The CIA’s refusal to answer has quickly spread across social media.
One user claimed, without evidence, that CIA Director John Ratcliffe 'knows something'. Others said the response fits long-standing beliefs that the US government hides information about extraterrestrial life.
These claims remain speculative. No proof has been provided to support them.
Wider context of UFO debates in the US
The CIA response comes amid renewed public interest in UFOs and government secrecy.
Just days after Greenewald Jr filed his FOIA request, a documentary titled “The Age of Disclosure” was released. The film features interviews with 34 current and former US government, military, and intelligence officials, discussing alleged UFO cover-ups.
Despite decades of claims, the US military and federal government have consistently said there is no physical evidence that aliens or extraterrestrial spacecraft exist.
Greenewald Jr has said he plans to appeal the CIA’s response in hopes of getting a clearer answer. He has also filed similar FOIA requests with NASA and other US agencies, though responses are still pending.
For now, 3I/ATLAS remains officially classified as a natural comet — but the CIA’s silence ensures the mystery is far from settled.
