On North Korea and Iran, Intelligence Chiefs Contradict Trump

Statements by Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, were at odds with remarks made by President Trump on North Korea, Iran and the Islamic State.CreditCreditSarah Silbiger/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — A new American intelligence assessment of global threats has concluded that North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear stockpiles and that Iran is not, for now, taking steps necessary to make a bomb, directly contradicting the rationale of two of President Trump’s foreign policy initiatives.

Those conclusions are part of an annual “Worldwide Threat Assessment” released on Tuesday that also stressed the growing cyberthreat from Russia and China, which it said were now “more aligned than at any point since the mid-1950s.”

The 42-page threat report found that American trade policies and “unilateralism” — central themes of Mr. Trump’s “America First” approach — have strained traditional alliances and prompted foreign partners to seek new relationships.

View the complete January 29 article by David E. Sanger and Julian E. Barnes on The New York Times website here.