‘Every day is a gift to Iran’: Bolton warns of ‘catastrophic loss’ as Trump’s peace talks drag on
WASHINGTON, DC: Former National Security Advisor John Bolton openly broke ranks with President Donald Trump, saying he hopes the administration’s ongoing negotiations with Iran “break down” as tensions continue to simmer around a fragile ceasefire reached after weeks of US-Israeli attacks.
The remarks exposed a sharp divide inside Trump-world over how to handle Iran after months of military escalation. Trump has insisted a deal is close, while Bolton argued diplomacy is only helping Tehran regroup after the war.
Bolton warns Iran is recovering
Appearing on CNN on Monday, May 25, Bolton blasted the negotiations after host Pamela Brown asked whether he felt optimistic about the latest memorandum tied to Iran’s nuclear program.
“Well, I hope the negotiations break down, because every day that goes by is a gift to Iran,” Bolton replied.
The former Trump adviser claimed the ceasefire was allowing Iran time “to recover from the pummeling they took during the six weeks of US-Israeli attack.” He also argued the pause was giving Tehran room “to try and reconstitute their government, which increasingly looks dysfunctional in decision-making capability.”
Bolton then escalated his criticism by warning that talks were delaying what he called “the day of reckoning.”
The comments marked one of the clearest public breaks yet between Trump’s push for a negotiated settlement and Bolton’s long-standing hawkish stance on Iran. Bolton, who also backed the Iraq War, went even further by calling the ceasefire itself “a mistake”.
“I think we’re on the verge of something that ultimately history will decide was a catastrophic loss for the United States,” Bolton said during the interview.
Trump pushes deal despite doubts
Trump has repeatedly claimed the US and Iran are nearing an agreement that could formally end the war that began in February after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
Last week, Trump said a deal had been “largely negotiated,” though Iranian officials have publicly pushed back on suggestions that an agreement is imminent.
The biggest sticking points remain the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear arsenal, as per the reports. Trump administration officials have publicly argued Iran was close to developing nuclear weapons, though US intelligence officials reportedly concluded Tehran was not near building one.
Bolton argued the current strategy risks undoing military gains already made against Iran.
“We have done significant damage to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said. “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.”
Trump added another layer to the negotiations when he suggested ending the war should depend in part on several countries normalizing relations with Israel, further raising the stakes around talks that Bolton now openly wants to collapse.
