US President Donald Trump slammed his own intelligence service on Wednesday as “extremely passive and naive,” a day after the director of national intelligence and other officials appeared to contradict aspects of the White House’s policy.
Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, told a Senate hearing on Tuesday that North Korea likely will not give up its nuclear weapons as it deems them vital to the regime’s survival. He also said Iran is not currently building nuclear weapons.
“The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong!” Trump wrote on Twitter, just hours before he was to receive an intelligence briefing.
By pulling the US out of the multilateral 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, Tehran has become “much different,” he said.
Iran remains “a source of potential danger and conflict,” the president said, adding: “Be careful of Iran. Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!”
Specifically, Trump pointed to Iranian missile tests. Coats and Gina Haspel, the head of the CIA spy agency, both warned about the ballistic missiles, but appeared to indicate a gulf with Trump over the relationship to the nuclear deal.
Trump has long hailed the prospects of a deal with North Korea and is planning to hold a second summit next month with leader Kim Jong Un.
Despite North Korea retaining nuclear weapons, Trump has previously declared Pyongyang is no longer a threat.
“I look forward to seeing Kim Jong Un shortly. Progress being made – big difference!” he tweeted on Wednesday.
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