Trump to intelligence officials: "go back to school"

Trump to intelligence officials: "go back to school"

Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump accused intelligence officials in his country of "naivety" over Iran's case while refusing to assess the threat posed by North Korea.

"Intelligence may have to go back to school," Trump said on Twitter.

The angry response came after the CIA published a report saying Iran was not building nuclear weapons.

The report also ruled out the "abandonment" of North Korea for its weapons and capabilities in new production.

National Intelligence Director Dean Coates and other intelligence officials presented a report on the global risk assessment to the Senate on Tuesday.

Last year, the United States pulled out of a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, drawing criticism from Washington's allies.

Trump led a diplomatic campaign to improve ties with North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un met in Singapore last June to discuss nuclear disarmament on the Korean Peninsula.

Trump said after the meeting that North Korea's nuclear threat was over, but a number of US politicians and experts questioned the claim.

The report warned of the increasing e-threat posed by Russia and China, noting that the two countries may seek to influence the results of the US presidential elections in 2020.

?What did Trump say about Iran

Trump described in a series of Twitter tweets intelligence officials as "negative" and "naïve" about the threat posed by Iran. "They are wrong," he said.

He added that Iran continued to "cause problems in the entire Middle East and beyond" in 2016, and that it had become "very different" after the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal.

Trump stressed that Iran remains "a potential source of danger and conflict".

CIA director Gina Hessel told the Senate that Iran was technically committed to the terms of the nuclear deal despite the withdrawal of the United States and tougher sanctions.

But the report warned that Iran's ambitions in the region and the strengthening of its military capabilities could threaten the interests of the United States in the future.

?What did Trump say about North Korea

"Time alone will reveal what is happening with North Korea, but at the end of the previous administration, relations were tense, and many bad things were going to happen," the president wrote.

"But today the picture has changed completely, and I look forward to seeing Kim Jong-un soon," he said.

  Is this the first collision between Trump and

?intelligence 

This is not the first time.

Last year, Trump was subjected to a wave of criticism from both Democrats and Republicans when he defended Russia in the face of its alleged involvement in the US presidential election in 2016.

Intelligence concluded in 2016 that Russia was behind attempts to sway the election against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, through a state-sponsored campaign of cyber attacks and false news on social networking sites.

But after direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in July, Trump said there was no reason why Russia was seeking to interfere in US elections.

Only 24 hours later, Trump said he had misinterpreted and wanted to say he saw no reason why Russia should not interfere.