BICOM

US National Security Adviser John Bolton met yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman for regional security talks

He was hosted by Netanyahu for dinner last night, which was also attended by US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer. At the start of the evening, Netanyahu said to Bolton: “I look forward to discussing with you a whole array of topics, but the most important one is how to continue to roll back Iran’s aggression in the region and to make sure that they never have nuclear weapons.”

Bolton told ABC News in Jerusalem that he was focused on dealing with Iran. He said: “The objective of the United States, of Israel — President Putin said it was Russia’s objective — is to get Iran, Iranian forces, Iranian militias, Iranian surrogates out of the offensive operations they’re in in both Syria and Iraq, and, frankly, to end Iran’s support for Hezbollah.”

“I think this is part of the problem with the Iranian regime generally and why it’s such a threat to peace and security not just because of its nuclear programme, but because of its military operations and its support for terrorism,” he added.

Following his trip to Israel, Bolton will travel to Ukraine and Switzerland, where he will meet with Russian officials to follow up on US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in July. A senior White House official told Haaretz prior to the meeting that Putin told Bolton he wants Iran to leave Syria but was unsure whether Russia could get all Iranian forces out the country. The official added: “It’s getting harder for Iran to keep its presence in Syria, because of the economic toll of our sanctions. The military threat they pose in Syria is a big concern everywhere in the region.”