CNN Report Proves Zarif Right about Division within Trump Team

“They have all shown an interest in dragging the United States into a conflict,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel in a recent interview with Fox News in New York.

He added that US national security adviser John Bolton, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman, and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates Mohammad bin Zayed are trying to push the US into a military confrontation with Iran, while US President Donald Trump does not want that.

In the interview with Trump’s favourite media outlet, Zarif made an effort to distinguish the American president from what he had earlier dubbed as the “B-Team” of Bibi, bin Salman, bin Zayed, and Bolton.

But minutes after the airing of Zarif’s interview with Fox News, Bolton appeared on the same news network slamming remarks by the Iranian foreign minister about him as “ridiculous,” “carefully prepared propaganda,” and “disinformation”.

Bolton who was an early cheerleader of Iraq war in 2003, has usually been considered as a neo-conservative warmonger. He has favoured military confrontation or regime change strategy vis-à-vis Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Syria, Cuba and some other countries. Therefore, when it comes to the Boltonian approach, Iran is not an exception.

Some days after Zarif and Bolton’s separate interviews with Fox News, CNN published a report on May 3, 2019 which proves the Iranian foreign minister right on his argument that President Trump is not after a war, but some elements in the US administration including Bolton are trying to lure him into a confrontation.

CNN, quoting unnamed officials wrote that, “President Donald Trump is urging caution among senior advisers moving forward and expressing frustration that some aides are more openly teasing military intervention” in Venezuela.

“Trump has become frustrated this week as national security adviser John Bolton and others openly teased military options and has told friends that if Bolton had his way he’d already be at war in multiple places,” added the report.

The quote attributed to Trump indicates that his national security adviser is a fond of “war in multiple places,” most likely in Iran as well. Here it seems even the US president does not agree with his national security adviser when it comes to pursuing a war, but he does with the Iranian foreign minister. The division within the US administration, particularly between Trump and Bolton, over a likely war – be it in Venezuela or Iran – was first brought up by Zarif; though rejected by Bolton, Zarif’s remarks were proven right by the CNN report.