Former US National Security Advisor calls for confronting Iran and its proxies in Syria and the region
The former US National Security Advisor John Bolton stressed the need to confront Iran and the “Ring of Fire” that it established with its proxies in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza.
Bolton said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Iran armed the “terrorist groups” in the above-mentioned states, and it also equipped, trained, and funded them to carry out Tehran’s orders.
Bolton saw that considering the Iranian attack on Israel as separate from Hamas movement or the Lebanese Hezbollah militias is a crucial misunderstanding of what the strategic reality is.
Bolton added: “If you do not understand the nature of the threat you face, it is difficult, if not impossible, to deal with it effectively.”
Bolton criticized the absence of any US strategy in the Middle East.
Regarding the Israeli strike on the Iranian city of Isfahan, he considered that it showed “very limited Israeli action,” and attributed its limitation to “tremendous pressure from the Biden administration.”
The former US official did not rule out that Israel would launch more strikes, pointing out that “a reduced response may expose Israel to greater danger, because the Iranian regime may conclude that the Israelis are not serious about confronting it.”
