Bolton Slams Trump as "Transactional" on Iran, Questions Strategic Thinking

Bolton, in a conversation with ANI, said that Trump doesn't do policy in a way that most people understand.

He said, "When we say he (Donald Trump) is transactional, it means that he doesn't think strategically. He doesn't even do policy the way most people understand. He could see Monday morning Washington time that the Asian markets, Japan, China, had gone down 3.5 per cent, so fearing the opening of the New York markets in a couple of hours, he may have thought I need to do something to buy time. That would be one reason, and at the same time, see if the Iranians really have any interest in having discussions. So he has bought himself some time until Friday. The test of whether these discussions were ever realistic, we'll see in a few days."

When asked about his views on Iran rejecting US President Trump's five-day postponement of all strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure, Bolton said it is "hard to believe that these countries are close to an agreement".

"I think Trump has reached out through intermediaries to see if there's some kind of deal that can be cut with the regime in Tehran, perhaps through Turkey, through Pakistan, perhaps others. All we know for sure is that Iran denies that anything is going on, although they say they have received notes. The regime of the Ayatollahs sees this attack as existential for them. It's not clear what Trump's objective is. I think it should be regime change, but I'm not sure that's his objective. I think Trump is so transactional that there's always a risk that he would look for some way to declare victory and get out. At this point, that has to mean opening the Strait of Hormuz," he added. '

Meanwhile, Trump said that the US has won the war, adding that Iran's navy and air force have been completely decimated.

Speaking at the Swearing-In Ceremony for the Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump said, "We're in negotiations right now. I can tell you, they'd like to make a deal and who wouldn't if you were there? Look, their navy's gone, their air force is gone, their communications are gone. pretty much everything they have is gone."

- ANI