Bolton sees US pressure on Iran leading it to new talks

US National Security Adviser John Bolton predicted on Tuesday that Washington’s pressure campaign against Iran would lead it to enter negotiations.

“They’ll either get the point or ... we will simply enhance the maximum pressure campaign further,” Bolton told reporters after meeting his Russian and Israeli counterparts in Jerusalem.

“It will be, I think, the combination of sanctions and other pressure that does bring Iran to the table.”

Bolton, speaking after the United States increased sanctions against Iranian officials, said Washington was still willing to talk to Iran.

“The president has held the door open to real negotiations to completely and verifiably eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapons program, its pursuit of ballistic missile delivery systems, its support for international terrorism and other malign behavior worldwide,” Bolton said in Jerusalem. “All that Iran needs to do is to walk through that open door.”

The United States backed out of the 2015 international agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear program in May last year. Iran denies it is trying to build nuclear weapons.

US President Donald Trump on Monday targeted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian officials with sanctions, increasing pressure on Iran after Iranian forces shot down an unmanned American drone.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi, told reporters on Monday that Iran would not agree to talks with the United States while it is under the threat of sanctions.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, responding to the sanctions said hawkish politicians close to Trump “despise diplomacy, and thirst for war”.

Bolton was speaking at the start of a meeting with his Israeli and Russian counterparts that was expected to focus on Iran and Syria.