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CIA director warns Trump against undoing Iran deal

Xinhua, December 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

The director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Wednesday warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump against dismantling the Iran nuclear deal.

In his bluntest public warning to Trump, who during the presidential campaign signaled willingness to undo the Iran nuclear deal, John Brennan told BBC that sabotaging the deal would be "disastrous."

"It could lead to a weapons program inside Iran that could lead other states in the region to embark on their own programs," said Brennan, adding that it would be "height of folly" to tear up that agreement.

The rare public warning from a CIA director to an incoming U.S. administration came after Trump chose to nominate Lt.General Michael Flynn as national security advisor and Congressman Mike Pompeo as chief of the Central Intelligence Agency, two hard-liners on the Iran nuclear deal.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly criticized the Iran nuclear deal, calling it "the worst deal ever negotiated." He also suggested that he would force Iran to return to the negotiation table or risk the accord being dismantled.

Iran and six world major countries -- the United States, Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany -- reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue in July, 2015 that puts Iran on the path of sanctions relief but more strict limits on its nuclear program.

The deal sets limits on Iran's nuclear activities as it will take Tehran at least one year to produce enough fissile materials for producing a nuclear weapon, and allows regular inspections of the facilities inside Iran.

In return, the United States and the European Union will suspend nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran, with the lifting of all past UN Security Council sanction resolutions. Endi