Former national security adviser John Bolton cast doubt Friday on whether the U.S. was on the cusp of reaching a long-term peace deal with Iran, as envoys from both nations prepare for another round of indirect talks in Pakistan.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, are expected to depart for Islamabad on Saturday. Vice President Vance, who led the U.S. delegation in the initial round of renewed talks two weeks ago, is not going but will be on standby, according to the White House.
Bolton, who also served as United Nations ambassador under former President George W. Bush, told NewsNation he thought it was a “mistake” to send Vance the first time.
“I don’t think you use the vice president unless you’re almost at closure, and for some reason the president can’t go,” he said. “But in any event, to say he’s on standby, as if somebody thinks that they’re on the cusp of a deal — they’re nowhere close to a deal.”
Pressed on why he believed that to be the case, Bolton said the sides remained far apart on “too many issues,” including the fate of Tehran’s nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
He also criticized Trump’s decision earlier this week to extend the temporary ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, arguing it could give the regime time to “get up off its back, to recover, regroup and get ready for the next phase” of the conflict.
“I mean, the whole thing is a blessing for Iran, and I think a mistake for the United States,” Bolton said, later describing the pause in the U.S. bombing campaign as “incalculably beneficial” to the regime.
Iran has ruled out a face-to-face meeting with U.S. counterparts in this latest round of negotiations, with the country’s foreign ministry saying its position would be conveyed through Pakistani intermediaries.
“FM [Abbas] Araghchi will be meeting with Pakistani high-level officials in concern with their ongoing mediation & good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression and the restitution of peace in our region,” a foreign ministry spokesperson wrote on the social platform X.
The chance of negotiations resuming at all had seemed fraught earlier in the week, as both Trump and the Iranians dug in their heels in the waning hours of the original two-week truce.
Trump was initially reluctant to extend the ceasefire, and Iran said it wouldn’t be threatened into negotiations, accusing the U.S. of making unreasonable demands.
The president reversed course on Tuesday afternoon, writing on Truth Social that he agreed to “hold our attack” against Iran until its leaders could present a “unified proposal” for peace. But he also ordered the U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz to continue.
The waterway, which transports about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, emerged as a key point of tension early in the conflict with the U.S. and Iran locked in a struggle for control of the flow of commercial shipping.
Iran has fired upon several vessels attempting to transit the strait in recent days, while the U.S. has ordered dozens of ships back to port and intercepted at least one Iranian vessel. The U.S. military is also working to clear Iranian mines from the channel.
The dual blockades have choked off global oil supply, disrupting markets and causing a surge in oil and gas prices. Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at $105 per barrel as of Saturday morning.
“Not only is Iranian oil not getting out into global markets, neither is the oil from our friends, the Gulf Arabs, because the Iranians have effectively closed that side of the strait as well,” Bolton told NewsNation host Leland Vittert.
“So on the Gulf front, it’s a standoff on commerce,” he added.
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