Donald Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton says Iran is behind Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s shows of aggression towards Israel, and he is anticipating an “escalation”.
Speaking on GB News, he added Iran smells blood with the “weak” Joe Biden administration and have therefore ploughed ahead with supporting the terror groups.
It comes after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu directly addressed Iran on Monday, warning them against “testing” the country after 2i towns were evacuated near the border with Lebanon.
The evacuations followed a spike in clashes between Israel’s military and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran.
John Bolton has criticised the 'weak' US President
REUTERS / GB NEWS
Bolton told Farage that Iran is “taking advantage” of Joe Biden as they view him as “weak”.
“The next step is Iran”, he said.
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“I think they think they face a weak American President, not withstanding he has moved two carrier battle groups to the eastern Mediterranean.
“It was an act of weakness on the part of the administration, I would say the risk of escalation is high but fundamentally, this isn’t an escalation as Iran has been there from the beginning.”
He added: “It is so important to get the Arab population to realise the aggressor here isn’t Israel, it’s Iran.
“I think there would be a substantial chance for the region as a whole to stand against Iran and we might see the government there in real trouble.
“Biden has been a weak president, but there is no doubt Iran sees weakness in the Biden administration and is taking advantage of it.”
It comes after the US President visited Tel Aviv where he reaffirmed US support for Israel.
Biden even went so far as to saying a rocket strike on a Gaza City hospital was initiated by “the other team”, despite all parties continuing to deny responsibility.
Gaza health authorities claim the incident resulted in over 400 casualties, with Hamas attributing the strike to Israel’s military.
But the Israeli military blamed a misfiring rocket from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and released imagery and communications intercepts aimed at supporting their case.
Hundreds of Palestinians have taken refuge at al Ahli and other hospitals in Gaza City in the past few days, hoping to be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.
At least seven British nationals, including 13-year-old Yahel Sharabi, were killed in the Hamas raids on Israel on October 7.
Downing Street said that nine UK nationals remain missing, with some of those feared dead, while others could be among the hostages taken back to the Gaza Strip.
