Bolton’s Removal to Give Iran, US Breathing Room for Diplomacy

Nosratollah Tajik has, in an interview with the Entekhab news website, weighed in on the reasons behind and the repercussions of the dismissal of US National Security Advisor John Bolton.

He says Bolton’s dismissal can create some room in the diplomacy arena; however, it does little to make a meeting happen between Donald Trump and Hassan Rouhani.

“The supposition that Bolton’s dismissal is a positive signal to Iran for talks seems unrealistic and wrong,” he added.

According to Tajik, Bolton’s thoughts were focused on violence, bellicosity and extremism, and that he has always banged the drum for war.

“Therefore, his dismissal can be evaluated as fresh air for diplomacy,” he added.

He further noted the major reason for the removal of Bolton can be sought in the differences of opinion between him and Trump.

“As it is evident from Trump’s tweet, Bolton and Trump have had serious differences of opinion about global security issues such as North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, etc.,” said Tajik.

“Two key and determining players in the US foreign policy are the White House (advisors and Department of Homeland Security staff) and State Department, but it seemed that the State Department had been sidelined from ongoing developments, and the White House circle had assumed the major role,” said the analyst.

“The trend of equations in recent developments shows that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has got closer to Trump. Pompeo listens to Trump more and tries not to irritate him. As a result, we witness the balance tipped in favour of Pompeo,” says Tajik, a former Iranian ambassador to Jordan.

“The reality is that with the dismissal of Bolton, the State Department will assume a [more active] role in determining the United States’ national security strategy and diplomacy,” he added.

“Still, the dismissal of the US national security advisor can be evaluated mostly within the context of having different tastes, so we cannot speak of a change in the United States’ general foreign policy toward international issues,” said the analyst.

“Bolton was the ideological representative of members of a current who are influential and have a role in the US foreign policy apparatus at this juncture,” the expert noted.

“The US foreign policy is determined by institutions, not people; so it is unlikely that a general strategy is set for the US foreign policy,” he said.