Ambassador John Bolton joined The Larry O’Connor Show to discuss the United States relationship with Russia and Iranian missile sanctions.
Larry O’Connor: The United States also announced sanctions today against Iran because of missile test. I saw Christiane Amanpour today on CNN say, ‘nobody believes that these missiles – as she calls them – are capable of carrying any kind of nuclear warheads’. But I’ve seen many independent reports say, this is exactly what these missiles do. Were the sanctions effective, is it appropriate and what about this question as to whether they are in fact missiles that could be used for a nuclear attack?
Ambassador Bolton: The particular missiles we’re talking about here are medium range missiles. It is entirely possible to miniaturize the nuclear warheads to fit under the nose cone of such a missile. What she’s saying – I think – is the chyron talking point – exactly what we’ve come to expect from Christiane Amanpour. And the chyron talking points are based on the mushy, badly worded, poorly negotiated nuclear agreement that Obama and John Kerry negotiated. What it does is call on Iran – and by the way this is in the Security Council Resolution – it doesn’t demand that Iran not test ballistic missiles, it calls upon Iran not to test ballistic missiles. And it says, in the key part of the document, that Iran should not be testing missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads.
Larry O’Connor: Boy that’s some pretty loose language. Who approved that? Oh we know who approved that…John Kerry.
Ambassador Bolton: John Kerry. I’m sure…I’m sure John Kerry probably wrote it himself. You can drive a truck loaded with nuclear warheads through that hole and that’s what the Iranians are doing. After all Larry, the Iranians have told us they don’t have a nuclear weapons program. Since you can believe the Iranians by definition their missiles aren’t designed to carry nuclear warheads, cause they’re not trying to get any. And this whole thing is such a bowl of jello, that any effort – I think – to try and enforce the deal as some have recommended is doomed to failure because it’s so poorly worded. It’s so advantageous to Iran. I favor the sanctions. I don’t think it’s going to have any effect on their nuclear program or their ballistic missile program. I think they’ve found ways around these sanctions. But to demonstrate what Mike Flynn and President Trump have also said in the past 48 hours, Iran is on notice, there’s a new sheriff in town. I think the President was exactly right yesterday when asked about his views on Iran and he said ‘nothing is off the table’, listen to that Ayatollah. And now we’re going to need a lot of very assertive diplomacy in Europe and elsewhere to say ‘look this deal was a strategic mistake when it was made and it hasn’t got any better with age, it’s time to face up to reality and abrogate it and deal with the hard question, what are we going to do with Iran’s program’?
