Former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton wrote sharply that President Donald Trump’s latest understandings with Iran are a major political failure for Washington, no better than the Afghanistan withdrawal and possibly worse. He argued the White House is presenting the accord as a way to avert an economic catastrophe, but in his view its real purpose is to rescue Trump politically from his own mistakes.
Bolton said the agreement leaves a dangerous ambiguity over freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a concern heightened after Tehran shut the strait over the weekend, saying Israel had violated the ceasefire. He said this showed Iran still holds leverage. He also said the U.S. has effectively given Iran major concessions, lifting sanctions and the naval blockade in exchange for nothing, while promising not to impose new penalties or deploy additional forces in the region before a final deal.
In the column, Bolton attacked Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance for describing Iran’s new leaders as more “reasonable” and as a normal government ready for a “new page.” He compared that rhetoric to Neville Chamberlain’s “peace for our time,” and warned that, as in past U.S. dealings with North Korea, Tehran is likely to pocket immediate economic gains, including unfrozen assets and investment, while burying nuclear dismantlement in endless talks.
Bolton said the consequences for the Middle East, especially Israel, are alarming because Israel and Gulf states remain under threat from Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal. He also said the deal’s Lebanon provisions put heavy pressure on Israel not only to stop strikes on Hezbollah, but to withdraw from Lebanon entirely. He concluded that Trump is trying to escape the fallout from higher fuel prices after his earlier decision to attack Iran, and that poor planning and weak advice turned what should have been a military defeat for the ayatollahs into a loud American failure.
