(NewsNation) — John Bolton, a national security advisor in the first Trump administration, is waiting to see what President Trump has in mind when he promises to unleash an “economic D-Day” on Iran with additional sanctions.
Bolton says it’s possible the U.S. can finally create enough pressure inside Iran to topple the government.
“Pulling the regime apart at the top and causing instability in the country is the way to do it,” he told “On Balance” on Friday. “If the Revolutionary Guard can’t pay … the people with guns, eventually the people with guns are going to come to their front doorstep and say, ‘Hey, boss, where’s our money?'”
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The president did not offer specifics about new sanctions as he continues betting that making conditions unbearable inside Iran will pay greater dividends than fresh rounds of bombing. Trump has been unable to wind down hostilities with Tehran after initially ordering military strikes in late February to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons.
Bolton says the U.S. Navy blockade against Iran has been effective in isolating the regime, but he’s not sure what else may help at this point.
“We’ll see on Monday what they are,” he said of additional sanctions. “If we had stricter sanctions, we should have put them in place about 10 years ago.”
In response Trump’s latest threat, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted Friday on X the history of U.S. sanctions against Iran, saying, “We have seen this movie before. Same bull. Different bullies.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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