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Former White House national security adviser John Bolton on Monday accused President Trump of being \u201cafraid\u201d of making a bad deal with Iran as the end of the two-week ceasefire approaches \u201cbecause he\u2019ll look like\u201d former President Obama.<\/p>\n
Bolton told CNN\u2019s Kaitlan Collins that Trump is \u201creally desperate to get out\u201d of the conflict with Iran. The former Trump administration adviser said the president is worried about the conflict\u2019s impact on energy prices, which have skyrocketed due to Iran cutting off the Strait of Hormuz to export vessels since the conflict began, and its political impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he\u2018s afraid of not making a deal because things will continue and he\u2018s afraid of making a bad deal because he\u2018ll look like Barack Obama,\u201d Bolton said. \u201cAnd that can lead to, uh, mood swings, shall we say?\u201d<\/p>\n
This is an apparent reference to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was negotiated under former President Obama. The deal required the Islamic Republic to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal during his first term in 2018.<\/p>\n
Bolton expects that the Iranian government will \u201creally feel they\u2019ve got the upper hand\u201d if Trump extends the ceasefire deadline, which the former Trump adviser called a \u201cmistake.\u201d He argued that the Trump administration should \u201cpunish\u201d Iran militarily to avoid allowing it to close the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I think the dominant mood for Trump is he wants out and he will find a way out,\u201d Bolton said. \u201cI think it will be unsatisfactory but he will declare victory and hope he can get away with it. That\u2019s what I fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
He previously said on Sunday that he expects another extension to the \u201ctwo-week breather,\u201d adding that it gave Iran time \u201cto recover, regroup, get ready for the next phase of the war. We never should have let up on them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vice President Vance, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to fly to Islamabad, Pakistan, to hold the second round of talks with Iranian negotiators before the deadline. Iran, however, stated that it has \u201cno plans for the next round\u201d of negotiations, citing the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
Both sides have made new threats to attack and fight back if threatened. Trump told the\u00a0New York Post\u00a0that the U.S. is \u201cloading up the ships with the best weapons ever made, even at a higher level than we use to do a complete decimation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Qalibaf on Monday accused Trump of violating the ceasefire with the blockade in the strait. He claimed that Trump \u201cseeks to turn this negotiating table\u2026 into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield,\u201d Qalibaf wrote on the social platform X.<\/p>\n
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