JERUSALEM, June 23 — US National Security Advisor John Bolton warned Tehran today of misinterpreting as “weakness” President Donald Trump’s last-minute cancellation of a retaliatory strike on Iran.
“Neither Iran nor any other hostile actor should mistake US prudence and discretion for weakness,” said Bolton ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
“No one has granted them a hunting license in the Middle East,” he added.
“Our military is rebuilt new and ready to go,” said Bolton, after Trump called off a planned attack on Iran in response to Tehran downing a US drone on Thursday.
Bolton, who was in Israel for a pre-scheduled trilateral meeting with his Israeli and Russian counterparts, Meir Ben-Shabbat and Nikolai Patrushev, noted that the “current circumstances in the region make our conversations even more timely.”
In a Saturday tweet, Trump had pledged to hit Iran with “major” new sanctions on Monday.
Washington has imposed a series of measures against Tehran since Trump pulled out of a landmark nuclear accord between Iran and world powers last year.
“We expect that the new sanctions president Trump referred to in preparation for some weeks will be announced publicly on Monday. Stay tuned,” Bolton said in Jerusalem. — AFP
