Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has told Euronews that a US military intervention could have a “decisive effect” on the situation inside Iran and that regime change is an “absolute prerequisite” to secure peace and security in the region.
Bolton, who advised Trump during his first presidency, said he believes the US president will ultimately opt for “targeted strikes” on strategic objectives in an interview Wednesday. President Trump said Tuesday he would consider a “very strong response” on Iran if the bloodshed on the streets against protesters does not come to an end.
Strategic objectives could include the headquarters and military bases of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Basij militia and the Iranian Navy, as well as key sites linked to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, Bolton told Euronews.
“Military action by the US could have a decisive effect on the dynamic inside Iran,” Bolton said on 12 Minutes With. “In the face of this brutal repression, (…) it would give the opposition a clear indication that the US and the rest of the outside world are watching.”
“Regime change in Iran is an absolute prerequisite for any hope of lasting peace and security in the Middle East and really to eliminate the threat of international terrorism and nuclear weapons that the regime in Tehran represents,” he added.
He considers the regime e to be “at its most vulnerable moment, perhaps since 1979 when it took power” after the Islamic revolution, which overthrew the Pahlavi monarchy.
His comments came as the Middle East braces for a possible US military intervention in Iran, which could see American bases from Saudi Arabia to Qatar hit in retaliation.
The foreign policy veteran also had words of criticism for European leaders’ strategy on Iran, saying they haven’t done “much of anything” to weaken the regime. The EU has sanctions in place and is discussing further measures, although no decision has been made.
“I think they (Europe) should be working with the United States,” he said. “We should all be working more with the opposition to provide resources, communications, for example, to help them coordinate better inside Iran.”
Trump’s foreign policy a ‘disaster’
Bolton is a foreign policy hawk who served several Republican administrations in top positions. The relationship between him and Trump broke down in 2019, with both accusing each other of incompetence.
Bolton graded Trump’s foreign policy a “two or three” out of ten, describing some of his decisions had been a “complete disaster” for the US during an interview with Euronews.
“He (Trump) doesn’t have a grand strategy for national security. Everything is transactional, episodic, ad hoc,” he said. “And that’s why he can completely reverse what he said during the campaign and not even see that he’s contradicting himself. I think he’s causing himself political difficulties with his own base.”
Bolton was equally critical of Trump’s intervention in Venezuela, where former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez – a key figurehead of Maduro’s regime – has taken the helm of the Venezuelan government alongside most of the Maduro cabinet still in place.
“The regime in power in Caracas is the Maduro regime without Maduro, and, if we’re not careful, that regime will entrench itself,” Bolton said, adding it would mean a squandered opportunity for potential US investment in Venezuela’s oil industry.
“Trump himself tweeted to the Iranian opposition: ‘Take control of your institutions’. Well, that’s what he should be saying in Venezuela as well. That is how you help overthrow a repressive regime,” he concluded.
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