Bolton Calls On Biden For More Force On Iran
Former US national security adviser John Bolton has called on President Joe Biden to be more forceful with Iran over its plots to kidnap or kill Americans.
Former US national security adviser John Bolton has called on President Joe Biden to be more forceful with Iran over its plots to kidnap or kill Americans.
Speaking to CBS Sunday, Bolton, who served under the Trump administration, told how the IRGC attempted to hire a hitman to kill him "either in the US or abroad.” He and others who had been serving at the time of the Trump-sanctioned assassination of Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani, were all named as targets following the killing in 2020.
“This was not internet chatter. This was a negotiation to murder an American citizen, a former government official,” he said. “We have lost deterrence. And I think this also goes to an unwillingness on the part of the administration to confront the ayatollahs in a way that they understand," he said.
The plot against Bolton was foiled when the assassin hired turned out to be an FBI informant. According to court documents, an Iranian citizen by the name of Shahram Poursafi tried to arrange the murder of Trump’s National Security Advisor, “likely in retaliation for the January 2020 death of Qods (Quds) Force commander Qasem Soleimani.”
In the CBS interview on Sunday, Bolton told of the ongoing threat, which means he lives with “marked Secret Service cars that say, Police. United States Secret Service, outside my home".
Several other US officials have been under round-the-clock protection because of similar threats to their life from the regime in Iran, including former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to CBS.
“I think the targeting of American citizens by a hostile foreign government is very close to an act of war,” Bolton said in his interview. “The Biden administration needs to be doing more to keep Iran in check.”
The Islamic Republic has a history of abduction and assassination as key parts of its foreign policy, mostly against Iranian dissidents in exile. Jamshid Sharmahd and Masih Alinejad are two recent examples discussed in CBS’ flagship program, 60 Minutes.
Both American citizens, the former was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020 and is now on death row in Tehran. The latter has been under protection since last year when the FBI foiled a plot to kidnap her from the US and take her to Venezuela.
Iran International was also mentioned in the 60 Minutes report as one of the more recent targets of the Islamic Republic’s policy to intimidate, silence or eliminate dissenting voices.
The London-based broadcaster had to relocate to Washington DC earlier this year when threats against its journalists got so severe that the UK police advised it to stop operation.
According to Matt Jukes, head of Counter Terrorism Policing in Britain, they have foiled 15 Iranian kidnapping and assassination attempts since last year. “I have been involved in national security policing for over 20 years. What we've seen in the last 18 months is a real acceleration.”
Iranian officials openly speak of their “reach” when threatening Iranian dissidents abroad. They often mention Rouhollah Zam, an Iranian activist and journalist based in France, who was kidnapped in Iraq, taken to Iran, and executed in December 2020.
More recently, the Biden administration has come under fire from both sides of Congress, with allegations that its response to Iran-backed attacks on US facilities in the Middle East also lacks deterrence.
The Biden softly-softly approach has meant that in the last one month alone, amid the war in Gaza waged by Iran-backed Hamas, over 40 attacks have taken place on the US in Iraq and Syria. There have been just three retaliatory attacks.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of Iran’s aerospace force claimed the US is communicating with Iran in a humble tone about preventing an escalation in the Middle East. He also repeated familiar rhetoric that “Iran is currently at the pinnacle of power and cannot be threatened.”
Hajizadeh’s defiant remarks followed a third US strike on Iranian targets in eastern Syria Sunday night, after Iranian proxy militia groups continuously attacking US bases with drones and rockets.
Following the US strike, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin left open the possibility of more action against Iran-linked groups if attacks against American forces in Iraq and Syria do not stop.
The US military’s air strike Sunday targeted a training facility near the city of Albu Kamal and a safe house near the city of Mayadeen. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard have set up a strong presence in the region, trying to facilitate the flow of weapons and ammunition from Iraq into Syria and Lebanon.
The strikes came after at least 40 attacks against US and coalition troops in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed forces in recent weeks, as regional tensions mount over the Israel-Hamas war. At least 45 US troops have suffered traumatic brain injuries or minor wounds.
"These attacks must stop, and if they don't stop, then we won't hesitate to do what's necessary, again, to protect the troops," Austin told reporters at a news conference in Seoul on Monday.
Iran has used the tactic for years to put pressure on the US, with the ultimate goal of forcing Washington to withdraw its military forces, which would allow Iran a freer hand to project power in Iraq and Syria. Iran escalated such attacks in December 2019, before former President Danald Trump authorized the killing of Iran’s top Middle East operative Qassem Soleimani in an air strike in January 2020.
The attacks had subsided for more than a year before the October 7 Hamas terror raid into Israel that ignited the Gaza war.
Austin said the latest air strikes in eastern Syria targeted facilities used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and related groups.
"These strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the freedom of action of these groups, which are directly responsible for attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria," Austin said.
The United States has 900 troops in Syria, and 2,500 more in neighboring Iraq, to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of both countries but was later defeated.
There is growing concern that the Israel-Hamas conflict could spread through the Middle East and turn US troops at isolated bases into targets of heavier weaponry than the smaller rockets and one-way drones seen so far.
The United States has deployed additional air defenses and sent warships and fighter aircraft to the region since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted on October 7, including two aircraft carriers, to try to deter Iran and Iran-backed groups.
The number of troops added to the region is in the thousands.
Reuters has reported that the US military was taking new measures to protect its Middle East forces during the ramp-up in attacks by suspected Iran-backed groups and was leaving open the possibility of evacuating military families if needed.
The measures include increasing US military patrols, restricting access to base facilities and boosting intelligence collection, including through drone and other surveillance operations, officials say.
It was still unclear whether anyone was killed in the Sunday US strikes in Syria.
As of Sunday, around 40 current members of parliament and several former lawmakers or top officials were barred by the interior ministry from running in the elections.
Some lawmakers, including Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, an MP from Mahabad, have openly blamed President Ebrahim Raisi's government for the massive disqualification of its critics. Others such as former lawmaker Ali Motahari have demanded explanations and insisted on their religious credentials. Yet others such as reformist Massoud Pezeshkian said, "The Interior Ministry has accused me of not believing in the Islamic Republic regime."
Mahmoudzadeh said that the government owned Iran Newspaper has been calling in the last four months for the disqualifications of politicians who have been critical of the Raisi administration.
Massih Mohajeri, the editor of the conservative daily Jomhouri Eslami, has accused the government of disqualifying critics to silence them and their criticism of the Raisi administration's failures. He claimed that 46 current and former MPs have been disqualified simply for criticizing the the adverse economic conditions and other problems created by this government. Meanwhile, he acknowledged that the Interior Ministry, which conducts the first round of candidate vetting, has significantly tightened the net to reduce the number of candidates who can pass through the qualification process.
Like many other Iranian politicians, Mohajeri argued that the regime may be attempting to portray the hardliner Guardian Council, which conducts the final round of vetting, as the good cop by having the Interior Ministry do the dirty job. He pointed out that many of those who have been disqualified are regime insiders, indicating that the ruling circle is becoming tighter and smaller.
He stated that the actions of the Interior Ministry resemble the behavior one would expect from totalitarian regimes, such as the one in North Korea. He added that disqualifying this many incumbent MPs constitutes a clear violation of the Constitution. According to him, the result will likely be an even lower turnout than the previous Majles election in 2020, which was the lowest in Iran's modern history.
Mohajeri added that the Interior Ministry has admitted that it has found the critics inside the government to be acting against national security! He asked if more than 40 lawmakers do not believe in the Islamic Republic, what do you expect of them?
Moderate conservative daily Ettela'at which is usually silent about political matters in Iran, warned the government about the perils of the political purification plan which is being pursued by Iran's ultraconservatives and pointed out that the disqualification of incumbent MPs and other regime insiders is part of the same process.
Ettela'at wrote that more than 28 percent of those who had registered their candidacy have been disqualified by the Interior Ministry. Ettela'at wrote that the lawmakers who have been disqualified are precisely those who have tried during the past four years to fulfil their responsibilities. What they have done at the Majles is simply pointing out the inefficiency of government officials.
Etela'at also pointed out that because of the disqualifications, many regime insiders are now concerned about low turnout in the upcoming election. The daily told the ultraconservatives that they can still enter parliament by winning 10 percent of the votes and be proud of a 40 percent or less turnout, but the regime can no longer claim popular support.
According to Khabar Online Website, the Interior Ministry was biased against some of the candidates. The same point was reiterated by the former leader of the centrist Executives of Construction Party Gholamhossein Karbaschi. He further concluded that the government is not looking for a high-turnout election.
As one of the readers of conservative website Alef pointed out , "We voted for your friends four years ago. What did we get other than poverty, misery, and rising prices? On the other hand, conservatives do not want political participation. They lost every time the people participated in the elections." Another reader explained why the people are disillusioned: "During the past 40 years you have always called for people's participation in the months before the elections. You forget the people and their problems as soon as the elections are over."