The U.S.-Iran nuclear arms deal leaves the United States in a "far worse" position in protecting its allies around the world, says John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
"It is a very bad deal. That is the fact. It's poorly negotiated, poorly worded, it's filled with loopholes," Bolton told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
"But most importantly of all, this is a deal which effectively gives Iran the two basic objectives that it sought going into these negotiations . . . protect its nuclear weapons program, and . . . get some relief from the economic sanctions," he said Tuesday.
"Iran has achieved its objectives. I don't know what the Obama administration's objectives were, but I don't think they achieved what they sought, and this leaves the region more dangerous, more vulnerable to Iran, and leaves the United States in a far worse position in terms of protecting our friends and allies."
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Bolton, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, says President Barack Obama fears an Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear program more than he fears an Iranian nuclear weapon.
"He believes that Iran can be contained and deterred. That's delusional. The ayatollahs have a very different approach to the world than the Soviets did during the Cold War, and in any event, of course, it doesn't stop with Iran," he said.
"The Saudis, the Egyptians, the Turks, and others will get nuclear weapons, which means not only will Israel be more vulnerable, but so will everybody else in the Middle East, and so will everybody else in the world who might be the target of a terrorist group that could get its hands on one of these weapons."
Obama felt the deal would give him more leverage over Israel, Bolton says.
"But it simply highlights even more the critical decisions Israel has to make. There's no good time for Israel to strike the Iranian program in terms of global opinion. It's always going to be negative. The only question is, is it a bad time or a worse time?" he said.
"So, from Israel's point of view of its legitimate right to self-defense, it has to judge when it can't wait any longer, and I don't think it has much time . . . I did advise, publicly, Israel to strike long before the present time, and every day that goes by just makes Israel more vulnerable."
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