Washington DC | US President Donald Trump on Tuesday has ousted his National Security Advisor John Bolton.
This move comes after months of tension over policy towards Iran and North Korea, saying he “disagreed strongly” with the hawkish aide on many positions.
“I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,” Mr Trump tweeted on Tuesday, adding that “others in the administration” had also disagreed with the White House’s top foreign policy official.
However, John Bolton presented a different set of events.
“I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow’,” Mr Bolton tweeted shortly after Mr Trump made the announcement.
I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, “Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) September 10, 2019
Trump said he would name a new national security adviser next week.
One Republican familiar with the disagreements between Donald Trump and John Bolton said that the adviser’s opposition to a possible meeting between Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was a precipitating factor in the dismissal.
In recent months, tensions have risen between Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over influence in the president’s orbit and how to manage the president’s desire to negotiate with some of the world’s most unsavory actors.
John Bolton was also opposed to Donald Trump’s now-scrapped notion to bring Taliban negotiators to Camp David last weekend to try to finalize a peace deal in Afghanistan.
It is unclear if the departure will lead to a softening of Mr Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, which has been hit by sweeping US sanctions since Washington unilaterally withdrew from a landmark Obama-era nuclear deal.
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