Trump offered support for Israeli military action against Iran: Bolton

According to Press TV quoting a leaked manuscript of his forthcoming book, Bolton has suggested that Trump had already pledged his support for an Israeli military action in direct talks with Netanyahu.

“On Iran, I urged that he [Trump] press ahead to withdraw from the nuclear agreement and explained why the use of force against Iran’s nuclear program might be the only lasting solution,” Bolton said in his book “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir” which is to be released Tuesday.

"'You tell Bibi [Netanyahu] that if he uses force, I will back him. I told him that, but you tell him again,' Trump said, unprompted by me,” Bolton added.

According to Bolton, the US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner blocked phone calls from Netanyahu to Trump last summer when the Israeli prime minister wanted to urge him not to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Trump reportedly wanted to meet Iran’s top diplomat on the sidelines of the G7 conference in France’s Biarritz, but Zarif rejected it out of hand. 

“Trump asked [Mick] Mulvaney and Kushner what they thought. Mulvaney agreed with me, but Kushner said he would have the meeting because there was nothing to lose,” wrote Bolton, who opposed the meeting.

Bolton said Kushner later actively blocked Netanyahu from reaching Trump to discuss the matter.