Analyst:

Bolton’s ‘path to diplomacy’ is ruse to crush Iran’s economy

US National Security Advisor John Bolton’s “path to diplomacy is simply a ruse to crush the Iranian economy and destroy its military capabilities,” according to Myles Hoenig, an American political analyst and activist.

News ID: 445648

Date: 26 June 2019 - 22:29

RNA - Hoenig, a former Green Party candidate for Congress, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV while commenting on a statement by Bolton regarding Iran.

Bolton claimed on Tuesday that Washington’s new sanctions and other pressure against Iran would lead it to enter negotiations with the United Sates.

“They’ll either get the point or ... we will simply enhance the maximum pressure campaign further,” he told reporters in Jerusalem al-Quds on Tuesday after meeting with Russian and Israeli officials, according to Reuters.  “It will be, I think, the combination of sanctions and other pressure that does bring Iran to the table.”

On Monday, the White House introduced new sanctions that targeted Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top Iranian military commanders. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was also going to be targeted by new sanctions, according to some reports.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the latest sanctions amounted to a "permanent closure of the path to diplomacy" with the Trump administration.

Trump on Tuesday threatened Iran with "obliteration" if the country launches any attack on American forces in the Middle East region.

In a Twitter rant on Tuesday railing against the Islamic Republic, Trump said, "Iran’s very ignorant and insulting statement, put out today, only shows that they do not understand reality.”

"Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry & Obama!" he added.

'US begging for acceptance into the world community'

“The US isn’t the only country that uses a ‘carrot and stick’ principle in achieving diplomatic results. That’s where you use diplomacy and non-aggressive behavior but willing to back it up with force. But with Theodore Roosevelt it seemed to be the US’s guiding principle. Some previous presidents liked to claim they use it but focus more on the stick. George H.W. Bush ignored all attempts at compromise and diplomacy, especially through the Russians, in order to get his war in Iraq. The same with Clinton in Yugoslavia and of course Obama in Libya,” Hoenig said.

“Trump is taking a different approach with Iran. He doesn’t even attempt to use the ‘carrot’ and goes directly to the stick, yet claiming he’s trying to be reasonable and peaceful. The same could be said for his approach to Venezuela, where he sent food caravans in order to bait the Venezuelans into a war they couldn’t win,” he stated.

“John Bolton says they want a peaceful settlement regarding Iran and its nuclear capacity yet Bolton has long been on record as advocating war and regime change, almost anywhere. Anything he says should not be regarded as honest if he talks of peace. They’re also trying to confuse the issue, at least with an ignorant population here in the US, that their leaving the Iran nuclear deal was because of Iran violating the agreement, even though no other country could or would attest to that,” he noted.

“Bolton’s ‘path to diplomacy’ is simply a ruse to crush the Iranian economy and destroy its military capabilities. As much of a hurting it’s doing to the Iranian people, more and more nations are seeing the belligerence coming out of DC. This is nothing new in American foreign policy but having actors like Bolton and Pompeo at the helm makes it that much more disingenuous. It is only this outrageous one-sidedness that could bring Iran back to the table, but this time with the US on its knees begging for acceptance into the world community,” the analyst concluded.

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