Former national security adviser John Bolton said Saturday on Newsmax that he supports President Donald Trump's objective of regime change in Iran.
He called for patience and persistence to achieve it, while noting that non-military aspects of the operation are lagging behind the military campaign.
Bolton, who served in that role during Trump's first term, appeared on "Saturday Agenda" and said he had long favored regime change and urged Trump to pursue it in the past. His early impression, he added, was that the current military operation was intended to advance that goal.
"I think it's a worthwhile objective," Bolton said. "I think the military side of it seems to be going very well. Other parts of it are not.
"I think he needs to have patience and persistence if he wants regime change, because this is a moment to get it. The regime has never been more unpopular inside Iran than since it took power in 1979."
Bolton referenced a January social media post in which Trump urged Iranian demonstrators to keep protesting, take over their institutions, and said, "help was on the way."
He cited the message to support his view that the current military operation was intended for regime change from the start.
On the immediate next steps, Bolton said the priority should be to open the Strait of Hormuz for safe passage while preventing Iranian oil from moving through it.
He expressed surprise that U.S. forces had not focused on the strait earlier but said the military now appeared increasingly confident it could secure the waterway for tankers.
"My impression now is our military is increasingly confident that they can make it safe for tankers to go through," he said. "And in the meantime, I would make sure Iranian tankers or tankers carrying Iranian oil are not exiting the Strait of Hormuz.
"It's not a gift to the United States for our enemy to be selling oil and having the purchase price of that oil going into the coffers of the ayatollahs in Tehran to use against us."
Bolton said he did not think striking Kharg Island was necessary, although other reasons for such a move might exist.
"I don't think we need to hit Kharg Island. There may be other reasons for that. I think we blockade the strait, make sure no Iranian oil goes in or out," he said.
In the longer term, Bolton placed greater emphasis on assisting Iran's internal opposition, which he described as widespread but not well organized. He called for the supply of resources, money, telecommunications equipment, and weapons if the opposition wanted them.
"If we're not going to put boots on the ground in any substantial number, it's going to be up to the people of Iran working with defectors from the regime, hopefully from the regular army, to pull the regime apart," Bolton said.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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