CIA Director Michael Hayden has said Hizbullah may not be willing to attack American interests and provoke a global fight in retaliation for a U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran.

If Iran was attacked and pressured Hizbullah to retaliate, the Shiite group may be especially reluctant to disrupt international oil supplies for fear of triggering a backlash, Hayden told Bloomberg in an interview Tuesday.

He was responding to speculation about a possible attack on Iran that has raised tensions throughout the Middle East, helped push up the price of crude oil and overshadowed a diplomatic effort to constrain Iranian nuclear ambitions.

He said Hizbullah would need to weigh whether any action it took against the U.S. would involve it in a war.

"Is it in Hizbullah's interest to become involved in a global war against the United States of America? That's a question to be answered,'' Hayden told Bloomberg.

He said that the costs of an attack on U.S. interests "are different than Hizbullah operating against Israel.''

Hayden described the relationship between Tehran and the Lebanese Shiite party as "a partnership'' with "a senior and junior partner, but it's also not a marionette theater either.''