Bolton says US-Iran nuclear talks are ‘fruitless'

The Hill

2 days ago

Former national security adviser John Bolton argued during a recent interview that nuclear deal negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are 'fruitless' and Israel's potential strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities are entirely 'warranted.'
'I think we're really at a very important point here, whether, whether Trump is going to try and continue these negotiations, which I think are going to be completely fruitless, or whether Israel is going to do what it has to do to protect its very existence,' Bolton said Friday evening in an appearance on NewsNation's 'On Balance.'
The U.S. and Iran's officials have sat down for five rounds of talks regarding Iran's expanding nuclear program, with the most recent meeting taking place in Rome last week. There, both sides indicated that they are moving closer to forging a new deal.
President Trump withdrew from the Obama-negotiated deal with Iran in 2018, during his first White House term, and imposed sanctions on Tehran. Trump has warned Iran that if ongoing diplomatic talks go sideways, military action could take place.
The president earlier Friday signaled that the two countries are 'fairly close' to reaching a new agreement.
'I think we have a chance of making a deal with Iran,' Trump told journalists at the White House.
'They don't want to be blown up,' he added. 'They would rather make a deal, and I think that could happen in the not-too-distant future.'
Israel has reportedly been preparing to strike Iran's nuclear facilities if U.S.-led talks go nowhere. Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from striking Tehran as it could jeopardize ongoing discussions.
'It's not a warning. I said, 'I don't think it's appropriate.' I just said I don't think it's appropriate,' Trump said. 'We're having very good discussions with them, and I don't think it's appropriate right now.'
Bolton, a defense hawk and a frequent critic of the president's approach to foreign policy, said the 'actual opinion in Israel is overwhelmingly in favor of taking military action against Iran's facilities.'
An Israeli Democracy Institute poll, released in late April, found that 45 percent of Israelis are in favor of striking Iran, while 41.5 percent are against it. Just over half of the respondents, 52 percent, of Jewish Israelis are in favor of strikes, while 34.5 percent oppose them. Among Arab Israelis, a large majority, 76 percent, are against military strikes, while only nine percent said the opposite, according to the survey.
'I think a preventive attack is entirely warranted. The US should support it. In fact, if asked, or if asked, we should help them and in fact we should volunteer to help them,' Bolton told host Leland Vittert on Friday.
'It's unfair to say that the Iran nuclear program is only Israel's problem, let's face it, it's our problem, too,' he added.
Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman also warned Iranian officials during a closed-door meeting on April 17 that Tehran should take up Trump's opportunity to negotiate a deal or the Islamic republic would risk military strikes from Israel, Reuters reported on Friday, citing two Gulf sources and two Iranian officials.