REVEALED: John Bolton left the White House ‘in fury at Donald Trump for suggesting easing sanctions on Iran’

• New report claims Bolton was furious at the idea of easing sanctions on Iran
• Trump reportedly suggested the move as a way of getting Iran to negotiate
• Noted hawk Bolton exited the White House dramatically on Tuesday 
• Bolton claims he resigned while Trump insists he fired the top advisor 

John Bolton’s fury over President Donald Trump’s suggestion to ease sanctions on Iran to jumpstart negotiations may have led to the national security advisor’s exit from the White House, according to a new report.

Trump raised the idea of lifting sanctions during a discussion with Bolton in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon, drawing furious protests from the noted hawk, a person close to Bolton told NBC News. 

Bolton was out as national security advisor the following morning — though the exact nature of his ouster is disputed, with Bolton insisting he resigned and Trump adamant that he was fired.

The meeting at 2pm on Monday about Iran was a key factor in Bolton’s exit, however, the person close to Bolton said. 

Trump reportedly mused about easing sanctions on Iran, drawing a furious reaction from Bolton in an Oval Office meeting on Monday

Trump has previously toyed with the idea of relaxing sanctions on Iran in order to spur negotiations, but went even further in Monday’s meeting, the person said. 

Bolton, regarded as the architect of the Iraq War, has long agitated for war with Iran.

In 2015, he penned a column for the New York Times arguing that ‘only military action’ could deter Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

In May 2018, less than two months after hiring Bolton as his national security advisor, Trump shredded the nuclear deal with Iran, a moment Bolton had long dreamed of.

Bolton was so thrilled that he reportedly hanged a framed copy of Trump’s executive order withdrawing from the deal on the wall of his office.

Aggressive posturing in line with Bolton’s preferred strategy took the U.S. to the brink of war, after Iran downed a U.S. drone amid a buildup of American troops in the region.

But Trump stepped back from the brink. With Bolton out, he may be reevaluating the policy of ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran to try to force it into broader talks to restrict its ballistic missile program and end its support for proxy forces around the Middle East.

Bolton, a noted hawk, has long yearned to bomb Iran and was outraged by Trump’s idea to ease sanctions on the country in order to re-engage in negotiations

Iran has ruled out talks until all sanctions imposed on it are lifted. European parties to the deal have struggled to calm the deepening confrontation between Iran and the United States.

If the United States lifts sanctions on the Iran’s oil industry, the country will pursue a policy of maximum oil production, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Saturday. 

‘Maximum production would be the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum’s policy in case (U.S.) sanctions are eased on Iran’s oil industry,’ the ministry’s official news website SHANA quoted Zanganeh as saying.

‘Our oil industry is alive, it is active. The U.S. sanctions cannot stop Iran’s oil exports,’ Zanganeh said.

After leaving the White House, Bolton resumed his old job on Friday as head of two political action committees and announced $50,000 in contributions to Republican candidates.

Bolton retook the reins of the John Bolton PAC and the John Bolton Super Pact, two groups he had headed before joining the White House 17 months ago.

As part of the resumption of his political action groups, Bolton announced the endorsement of five Republicans running in the November 2020 elections.

They are Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin of New York.

Each candidate received $10,000 in contributions from the Bolton groups for a total of $50,000. 

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