Former national security adviser John Bolton said Israel faced significant pressure from the Biden administration to refrain from further retaliation against Iran following Tehran’s recent attack.
In the early morning of April 19, Israel launched a retaliatory attack on Iran in response to Tehran’s firing over 300 missiles and drones into Israeli territory last week.
“I think what Israel did, as far as it went, was fine,” Mr. Bolton said. “I think they were under enormous pressure, I mean, enormous pressure, from the Biden administration not to do more, and I can appreciate that. It’s a difficult position to be in.”
The retaliation attack from Israel hit near Iran’s major air base and nuclear facilities, but it caused no damage to the nuclear sites. Explosions were reported near the Iranian city of Isfahan, which plays an important role in Iran’s nuclear program, and air defenses were triggered across the country.
Iranian officials downplayed the attack and did not directly acknowledge the reports that Israel attacked. Iran’s Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi said that “the explosion this morning in the sky of Isfahan was related to the shooting of air defense systems at a suspicious object that did not cause any damage,” according to the Associated Press.
Mr. Bolton noted that the Israel war cabinet wanted to go further on the retaliation. He believed they should have taken more decisive action, stating that Iran was lucky to have avoided a harsher response.
He said Israel should have targeted some of Iran’s nuclear program, its oil infrastructure, Iranian naval vessels in the Red Sea, or Quds force bases.
Israel said it successfully intercepted 99 percent of over 300 drones and missiles during the attacks with the help of the United States and other allies.
Despite helping Israel intercept the attack, the Biden administration said it would not participate in any retaliatory attack against Tehran as the White House wants to prevent further escalation that might cause a broader conflict in the region.
President Biden also warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would not support retaliatory action against Iran during a phone call on April 13.
In the interview, the former national security adviser pointed out that the Biden administration put much pressure on Israel because the administration feared a wider conflict in the Middle East could drive global oil prices higher, resulting in higher gasoline prices in the United States. This, in turn, could “cause Biden political problems with the left wing of the Democratic Party.”
“If Joe Biden, as some press reports have it, is urging the Israelis not to retaliate at all, he is an embarrassment to the United States,” the former national security adviser said. “This is an American interest to make sure that Iran, which is the principal threat to international peace and security in the region, is at a minimum put in its place to spare Israel, to spare the Gulf Arabs, to spare us from the threat that they pose.”
