Trump fires his Iran policy architect: Update

Updates throughout

US president Donald Trump today fired White House national security adviser John Bolton, a proponent of strong pressure tactics against Iran and Venezuela.

Trump, via his preferred personnel change announcement medium Twitter, said he told 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.

Bolton, responding via Twitter after Trump's announcement, said he offered to resign last night and "President Trump said, 'Let's talk about it tomorrow.'"

Bolton's "priorities and policies just do not line up with the president," the White House said. "There is no one issue here. They just did not align on many issues."

More than any other individual, Bolton had laid out the case for the "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran through sanctions and diplomatic pressure even before becoming Trump's national security adviser in April 2018.

Bolton had argued that the pressure of unilateral US sanctions will either result in the overthrow of the Iranian government or force it to negotiate a new deal on US terms. He suggested that Trump ought to publicly discuss the prospect of talking with Iran after withdrawing the US from the nuclear deal, but only to address his allies' concerns.

But Trump appeared interested in negotiating with Tehran, rather than just going through the motions of a dialogue.

Bolton's policy of maximum pressure has resulted in a near cutoff of Iranian crude exports, but it also has sparked a string of incidents on oil tankers and infrastructure in the Middle East. Iran has selectively stopped compliance with restrictions on its nuclear program. The two countries nearly came to a military confrontation in July, but Trump decided not to retaliate after Iran shot down an unmanned US military drone.

US officials responded to the French offer of mediation with additional measures to restrict Iran's ability to export oil. But Trump has not ruled out the French proposal for altogether, even though Bolton and secretary of state Mike Pompeo have poured scorn on it.

Bolton's departure does not signify a change in policy on Iran, treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said. "I would say that secretary Pompeo and myself and the president are completely aligned on the maximum pressure campaign," Mnuchin said at a news briefing shortly after Bolton's termination was announced. "The president made clear he is ready to meet [Iran's president Hassan Rohani] without preconditions, but we are maintaining our maximum pressure campaign."

Mnuchin and Pompeo held a briefing to announce a consolidation of several existing sanctions programs to better target groups Washington considers terrorist. Mnuchin included Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its component Quds Force in this category alongside extremist groups Isis and Al-Qaeda, a calculated slight to Tehran.

Both Pompeo and Mnuchin appeared visibly satisfied at the news of Bolton's forced departure. "The president's view of the Iraq war was very different than Bolton's," Mnuchin said. And Pompeo added that he too had many disagreements with Bolton. "The president should have people whose effort and judgment benefit him in delivering the US policy," Pompeo said.

Bolton's equally confrontational approach to force out Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has not worked out so far. The US recognizes Venezuelan National Assembly speaker Juan Guaido as the country's interim president. US sanctions in place have cut off Venezuela's primary export destination, forcing that country to redirect its crude exports to China and India.

But the US' Venezuela policy is unlikely to change in the wake of Bolton's departure. "We have a massive sanctions program in place," Mnuchin said. "We are concerned about the humanitarian crisis, and we are working with Venezuela's neighbors to address it."

Bolton was Trump's third national security adviser. The first, Michael Flynn, resigned after less than a month in the office and is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador in Washington in 2016. Flynn's successor HR McMaster lasted 13 months on the job before Trump forced him out in March 2018 to pursue a more confrontational course on Iran.

Trump said he would appoint a new national security adviser next week. Bolton's deputy Charlie Kupperman, formerly an executive at Boeing and Lockheed Martin, will serve as acting national security adviser.

Pompeo may not serve until the end of Trump's term in office either. Senior Republicans are pushing him to run for the Senate from Kansas next year, and Pompeo has until June 2020 to make the decision. Pompeo has not ruled out his candidacy, while insisting that he will continue to serve as secretary of state as long as Trump keeps him on board.