NEW YORK: The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has warned US president-elect Donald Trump against revoking the nuclear deal with Iran, saying that it would be “disastrous” and “the height of folly”.

In a interview with BBC broadcast on Wednesday, John Brenan advised the new president to be wary of Russia’s promises, blaming Moscow for much of the suffering in Syria.

In his election campaign, Trump had threatened to scrap the Iran deal and also hinted at working more closely with Russia. John Brennan will step down in January after leading the US intelligence agency for four years.

In the first interview by a CIA director to a British network, Mr Brennan outlined a number of areas where, according to him, the new administration should act with “prudence and discipline” - these included the language used regarding terrorism, relations with Russia, the Iran deal and the way in which the CIA’s own covert capabilities were employed.

“First of all for one administration to tear up an agreement that a previous administration made would be unprecedented,” Brennan said.

“It would be the height of folly if the next administration were to tear up [the Iran] agreement.”

Donald Trump has promised to rip up the 2015 pact under which Tehran agreed to curtail its nuclear programme in exchange for an easing of international sanctions.

Published in Dawn December 1st, 2016