Washington DC [US], January 7 (HBTV): Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton said that the Iranian regime appears to be ‘coming apart’ amid what he described as continuing and expanding anti-regime demonstrations, adding that the capture of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro ‘probably caught the Ayatollah’s attention more than anything else’.
Speaking to ANI while responding to US President Donald Trump’s remarks on protests in Iran, Bolton said, ‘What probably caught the Ayatollah’s attention more than anything else was the capture of Maduro. They should be worried. But I think it’s better to act rather than engage in rhetoric, as Trump does.’ He added that in Iran, ‘the anti-regime demonstrations are continuing and expanding’, and claimed there were indications that ‘at the top of the Iranian regime, it’s really beginning to come apart’.
Bolton said this was a moment when the United States and other countries should engage with the Iranian opposition. ‘This is a time when the US and others should consult the Iranian opposition and ask what they can do to help. Let the people of Iran decide what kind of government they want,’ he said.
Sporadic protests have erupted in Iran’s capital Tehran and several other cities, with local media reporting intensifying clashes in parts of the country, particularly in western regions. The demonstrations, which began in late December, initially involved shopkeepers striking over economic grievances before expanding in scale and scope, with protesters later raising political demands, according to reports by Al Jazeera.
When asked about the impact of the current political situation in Venezuela on its oil production, Bolton told ANI that the loss of Venezuelan output in international markets was insignificant. ‘One reason, apart from the sanctions, why Venezuela produces so little oil is that its drilling, shipping, and other capacities are so degraded and dilapidated,’ he said.
He criticised expectations that foreign investment could quickly revive Venezuela’s oil sector, saying, ‘Here’s where Trump makes another fundamental mistake by thinking that foreign investment by US or other foreign oil companies can suddenly or quite quickly increase Venezuela’s oil production, which is absolutely wrong.’ Bolton added that restoring production would require billions of dollars in new capital investment over an extended period before any real impact is seen.
US President Donald Trump had earlier said Washington would move to take control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and encourage American companies to invest billions of dollars to revive the country’s weakened oil industry. Trump made the remarks after the United States carried out what it described as a large-scale military operation in Venezuela, during which Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country. (ANI)