John Bolton said President Donald Trump’s Iran negotiations show the president’s “palpably desperate” need for a deal, arguing Iran is using that pressure to gain time and avoid real concessions. Bolton, a longtime critic of Trump since being pushed out of the
For John Bolton, the negotiations with Iran are no longer just a high-stakes diplomatic exercise—they’re a test of whether the United States is being played.
Asked by Pamela Brown on Monday whether Trump “fully understands” Iran’s position in the talks, Bolton said he does not believe the president grasps what remains of the regime. Trump, Bolton argued, is approaching the negotiations with a mindset shaped by dealmaking.
“He is somebody who has spent his whole life making deals with people. He thinks everybody wants to make a deal on just about anything. That’s not what these people are into,” Bolton said.
In Bolton’s view, Iran can read that desperation—and it has moved to exploit it. Bolton said Iran is able to see “Trump is so palpably desperate to have a deal that he can declare to be a victory and that lowers prices of gasoline,” and that this has changed the balance of the talks.
“They’re playing him on that. They’re stretching him out. They’re buying time. All of that works in their advantage,” Bolton said.
Bolton’s comments landed moments after he weighed in on reporting that a draft proposal would extend the ceasefire for 60 days. He called that reported extension a “mistake,” and said he hopes the ongoing negotiations “break down.” In his account, the talks amount to a “gift” to Tehran.
“I think we’re on the verge of something that ultimately history will decide was a catastrophic loss for the United States,” Bolton said.
Bolton didn’t frame his concern as abstract. He pointed to damage he believes the United States has already done to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and he said that damage is at risk of being undone by the direction of the negotiations.
“We have done significant damage to the Islamic Republic of Iran and right now we’re letting them undo the damage, and that is a real tragedy, not just for us but for the people in the region,” he said.
The former national security adviser also sharpened his argument about deterrence. saying Iran “has to learn the lesson it cannot get its way in the Gulf by military force.” He said the “only way to establish deterrence” against Iran’s “chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz” is for the U.S. to use military force to open it.
Bolton then turned his criticism toward timing and decision-making inside the administration. He said it is “reasonable to ask why didn’t the administration think of this at the beginning of the war.” He did not claim to know why, but he said he knows what he believes the answer should not be now.
“The answer now is not to have a diplomatic deal that can be reversed like — by Iran, like turning a light switch on and off,” he said.
Taken together. Bolton’s remarks portray a negotiation process that. in his view. is being driven by Trump’s urgency to deliver a deal—and Iran’s ability to extract advantage while time stretches on. The central dispute is stark: Bolton argues the talks are conceding too much too easily. while the administration pushes for an outcome it can present as a victory.
John Bolton Donald Trump Iran negotiations ceasefire extension Strait of Hormuz Islamic Republic of Iran U.S. national security diplomacy