The international nuclear accord signed with Iran should be abrogated due to Iran’s recent provocative moves, posited John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Bolton was being interviewed for “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” broadcast on New York’s AM 970 The Answer and Philadelphia’s NewsTalk 990 AM.
Klein, who doubles as Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter, asked Bolton how the U.S. should respond in light of Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests, which may go against the comprehensive nuclear agreement signed in Vienna last year.
“I think that the real decision here has to be to abrogate the entire Vienna nuclear deal,” Bolton replied. “It was a strategic mistake when it was signed for the United States. It’s been violated repeatedly by the Iranian regime. They violate now both on ballistic missiles and on the nuclear side.
Bolton continued:
But it’s very clear that what the Obama administration, Secretary of State Kerry, former Secretary of State Clinton are doing is playing the same kind of game we saw played so badly during the Cold War. They think if only they can help the moderates, in quotes, in Iran, that they can basically remove the Ayatollahs peacefully, sideline the Revolutionary Guard Corps, stop the ballistic missile and nuclear programs, convince the Saudi Arabian government to share the Middle East with Iran and that peace will break out.
And this idea that somehow the United States can identify moderates that we can then influence the internal politics of a country like Iran is just the same delusion as in the Cold War.
Reuters reported last week on the international concern over the ballistic missile tests:
A series of tests conducted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards caused international concern, with the United States, France and other countries saying that, if confirmed, the launch of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles would violate U.N. Security Council resolution 2231.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for Western powers to take “immediate punitive steps” against Iran in response to the missile launchings.
Last week, the United Nations Security Council and the European Union criticized Iran’s missile launchings as disrupting the “peaceful environment” and eroding trust with the international community, but neither body took any action against Tehran. The UN said more information was needed before determining whether Iran violated a UN resolution approved after the nuclear accord was finalized.