Monday on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” National Security Adviser John Bolton said the Iranian regime was on “shaky ground” and is “bluffing” on their threat to block the Strait of Hormuz.
Bolton said, “Our policy is not regime change. We want to put unprecedented pressure on the government of Iran to change its behavior. So far they’ve shown no indication they’re prepared to do that. The president has made it clear repeatedly that he viewed the Iran nuclear deal as one of the worst in American diplomatic history. I thought he was right on target on that. We won’t allow Iran to get nuclear weapons.”
On protests in Iran over the weekend, Bolton added, “Well look, we know basically what we’re seeing in the press, that these are widespread, they’re spontaneous, they are not coordinating and not due to the reimposition of American sanctions. They reflect longstanding opposition inside Iran to the regime, to the economic deprivation, to the repression, to the religious intolerance. I think this regime is on very shaky ground. The real question is whether the Revolutionary Guards Corp and ayatollahs will use force against their own people. We’re focused on the nuclear weapons program, the support for terrorism, ballistic missiles and the belligerent activity militarily. ”
On the Iranian regime’s threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, Bolton added,”Well, the Iranian leadership has made a lot of mistakes in the past several years trying to close the Strait of Hormuz. It would be the worst mistake yet. I don’t think that they are serious about it. I think they are still bluffing. They should not underestimate our determination that we are going to put pressure on them until they give up their pursuit of nuclear weapons and all the other activities that I mentioned that we are very serious about.”
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