WIKILEAKS posted documents found in CIA director John Brennan’s hacked emails on Wednesday, showing disagreements between the top spook and the White House over Iran.

The emails, from Mr Brennan’s non-government account, were passed to the whistle-blowing website by a group of hackers.

The CIA called the hacking a “crime.”In one document, an unfinished draft, Mr Brennan argues that the US should “tone down the rhetoric” against Tehran and engage in “direct dialogue.”

He urges President Barack Obama to “hold out meaningful carrots as well as sticks.”Criticising the “gratuitous” inclusion of Iran in George W Bush’s “axis of evil,” Mr Brennan praised Iran for “helping repair the post-Taliban political environment in Afghanistan.”

Another document from a now-retired senior senator, Kit Bond, suggests to his intelligence committee colleagues that US torturers should be allowed to use whatever methods they like so long as they’re not specifically prohibited by an army manual.