Trump’s Former NatSec Advisor Outright Says He Wants Iran Talks To Fail: ‘I Hope the Negotiations Break Down’ 

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton criticized President Donald Trump on Monday and expressed hope that the ongoing talks with Iran “fail.”

Trump has said the U.S. and Iran are nearing a deal that would end the war that began in February, when the U.S. and Israel started bombing the country. In April, the sides agreed to a ceasefire, which remains in effect. Last week, the president said a deal with Iran has been “largely negotiated.” For their part, the Iranians have stated that no deal is imminent. The key sticking points are the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed at the beginning of the war, and Iran’s nuclear material. Publicly, Trump officials have insisted Iran was on the verge of making nuclear weapons, even though U.S. intelligence officials concluded that Iran was not close to doing so.

Appearing on CNN on Monday, Bolton, who served as Trump’s National Security Advisor in Trump’s first term, blasted the talks. Host Pamela Brown asked, “Are you feeling optimistic about this memorandum, given that we’ve seen negotiations break down before when it comes to the finer points of Iran’s nuclear program?”

“Well, I hope the negotiations break down, because every day that goes by is a gift to Iran,” Bolton replied. “It gives them 24 more hours to recover from the pummeling they took during the six weeks of U.S.-Israeli attack. It gives them time to try and reconstitute their government, which increasingly looks dysfunctional in decision-making capability. And it postpones the day of reckoning.”

Bolton, a longtime foreign policy hawk who backed the Iraq war, went on to call the ceasefire “a mistake,” in addition to the negotiations.

“I think we’re on the verge of something that ultimately history will decide was a catastrophic loss for the United States,” he continued. “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, too.”

On Monday, Trump suggested that ending the war should be contingent on several countries normalizing relations with Israel.

Watch above via CNN.

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