Bolton warns Iran to not mistake US ‘prudence’ for ‘weakness’
US National Security Advisor John Bolton warned
Tehran on Sunday of misinterpreting as “weakness” President Donald Trump’s
last-minute cancellation of a retaliatory strike on Iran.
“Neither Iran nor any other hostile actor should
mistake US prudence and discretion for weakness,” said Bolton ahead of a
meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
“No one has granted them a hunting license in the
Middle East,” he added.
“Our military is rebuilt new and ready to go,” said
Bolton, after Trump called off a planned attack on Iran in response to Tehran
downing a US drone on Thursday.
Bolton, who was in Israel for a pre-scheduled
trilateral meeting with his Israeli and Russian counterparts, Meir Ben-Shabbat
and Nikolai Patrushev, noted that the “current circumstances in the region make
our conversations even more timely.”
In a Saturday tweet, Trump had pledged to hit Iran
with “major” new sanctions on Monday.
Washington has imposed a series of measures against
Tehran since Trump pulled out of a landmark nuclear accord between Iran and
world powers last year.
“We expect that the new sanctions president Trump
referred to in preparation for some weeks will be announced publicly on Monday.
Stay tuned,” Bolton said in Jerusalem.
