Trump Likely to Free Israel to Attack Iran, John Bolton Says

President-elect Donald Trump may give Israel free rein to step up its attacks against Iran, a former Trump national security adviser said Wednesday, warning that tensions in the Middle East could escalate further before Trump takes office in January.

“Trump is probably saying [to Israel] do whatever you want before January 20th,” John Bolton, who served as national security adviser from 2018 to 2019, told Newsweek in an interview Wednesday.

Trump likely views Israel’s war in Gaza and fighting in Lebanon with the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah “the same way he looks at Ukraine. He wants it off the table,” Bolton said.

Tensions between Israel and Iran have increased in recent months, with both countries trading attacks in response to Israel’s year-long war with Hamas in Gaza.

The Biden administration has pushed Israel not to strike Iran’s energy facilities, but Bolton said Trump may give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a tacit greenlight to target Tehran’s nuclear weapons program.

Newsweek requested comment from the Trump campaign.

Netanyahu said Sunday he had spoken with Trump three times in recent days, including to congratulate the former president on his 2024 election victory.

“We see eye-to-eye on the Iranian threat in all its aspects,” the prime minister said in a statement.

The U.S. president-elect typically receives congratulatory messages and phone calls from world leaders following an election. But Trump’s conversations with heads of state since his win have sparked concern that he might try to influence foreign policy before he is sworn in as president next year.

In addition to his conversations with Netanyahu, Trump has also spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent days. Trump ally Elon Musk participated in the call with Zelensky.

“Transitions are uniquely consequential moments in geopolitics,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Wednesday. Sullivan said dealing with Iran and its proxies was one of the “most immediate” national security challenges facing the U.S.

The focus on Trump’s potential foreign policy moves comes as he starts to fill out key posts in his administration.

Trump nominated former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a vocal Israel supporter, as U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Trump announced he would nominate Fox News host and veteran Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense and picked New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a high-ranking House Republican, to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump also announced he would appoint former Rep. John Ratcliffe as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Ratcliffe served as the director of national intelligence in the final months of Trump’s first term in office.

Additionally, Trump named Florida Rep. Mike Walz, a well-known China hawk, as national security adviser, a position that does not require Senate confirmation.