Sen. Ted Cruz openly speculated that “deep state forces” may have influenced President Trump’s decision to force out national security adviser John Bolton.
Bolton, a foreign policy hawk, was a key figure behind Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. In a flurry of tweets Tuesday, Cruz wondered if Bolton’s exit signals Trump has been convinced to go “soft” on Iran.
“I sincerely hope his leaving the White House does not mean that the deep-state forces at State and Treasury—who have been fighting tooth and nail to preserve the Obama Iran nuclear deal—have finally convinced the president to go soft on Iran,” the Texas Republican said.
“Relaxing the maximum pressure strategy, which is succeeding in dramatically weakening the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, would be an enormous mistake,” he added.
I sincerely hope his leaving the White House does not mean that the deep-state forces at State and Treasury—who have been fighting tooth and nail to preserve the Obama Iran nuclear deal—have finally convinced the president to go soft on Iran.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) September 10, 2019
Cruz delivered a similar warning last week, during a speech in Washington, D.C., about sinister forces within the federal government bureaucracy working to salvage the Iran deal.
Trump announced on Tuesday, via Twitter, that Bolton submitted his letter of resignation after he had asked for it. “I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House. I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning,” Trump said.
The Trump administration has engaged in what it has called a “maximum-pressure” campaign on Tehran, which aims to squeeze Iran’s economy with sanctions to curtail the country from developing nuclear weapons. Bolton’s ouster has some observers convinced it signals a shift in Trump’s hard-line approach.
“Surprised it took so long. This likely signals that Trump is desperate to run a string of deals, however cosmetic, prior to the 2020 election on Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea and sees Bolton as a roadblock,” tweeted Colin Kahl, who was a deputy assistant to former President Barack Obama.
Ben Rhodes, an Obama adviser who was a key Iran deal architect, also wondered if Trump may try a new approach with Iran. “With Bolton gone, will Trump meet with Iranians at UNGA and give in to Europe’s desire to return to something like the Iran Deal? Whatever happens Trump has spent years making a mess of Iran policy for no reason other than right wing politics and incompetence,” he tweeted.
Tehran interpreted Bolton’s departure as a sign Washington was losing its nerve. “The marginalization and subsequent elimination of Bolton is not an accident but a decisive sign of the failure of the U.S. maximum pressure strategy in the face of the constructive resistance of Iran,” Hesameddin Ashena, an adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted.
Cruz, a vocal Trump defender, argued the “maximum pressure” strategy “is succeeding in dramatically weakening the world’s leading state sponsor of terror” and warned relaxing it “would be an enormous mistake.”
“Additionally, enabling Europe to send an economic lifeline to the Ayatollah would return to Obama’s failed foreign policy and undo the single greatest national security victory of the Trump Administration,” Cruz added.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whose relationship with Bolton has reportedly hit rock bottom, said at a news briefing on Tuesday on new counterterrorism sanctions, after the Bolton announcement, that Trump may meet with Rouhani at the United Nations meeting later this month.
According to a report from NBC News, Trump had been phoning retired Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, his prior national security adviser, for advice as his frustration with Bolton grew. Among the topics they discussed was the Iran situation.
