“I don’t think this threat is over, but I do think you can make at least a conditional claim that the quick response and the deployment and other steps that we took did serve as a deterrent,” Bolton told reporters during a visit to London.
He hinted that the United States may present evidence to the UN Security Council proving Iran was behind this month's oil infrastructure attacks in the Persian Gulf.
“I don’t think anybody who is familiar with the situation in the region, whether they have examined the evidence or not, has come to any conclusion other than that these attacks were carried out by Iran or their surrogates,” Bolton said.
The remarks come a day after Bolton visited Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan near the Port of Fujairah where four oil structures were sabotaged earlier this month. Nahyan is also deputy supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces.
In the UAE, Bolton revealed that a defense cooperation agreement between the Gulf state and the United States would come into effect.
The agreement “will enhance military coordination between the two nations, further advancing an already robust military, political and economic partnership at a critical time,” WAM reported.
On Thursday, the US State Department reiterated that the ultimate goal is to take Iranian oil exports to zero.
"The policy [of the president and secretary of state] is that we are going to zero and there are no extensions of these waivers. That remains our policy..." State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told reporters at a press briefing.
Iranian oil exports fell to 400,000 barrels per day in May — half of the total in April.
"It's important to note where we were a year ago — and even at the beginning of this administration. A lot of people said that unilateral US sanctions would never work. They have. A lot of people said the world would not comply with our campaign. They have.
The US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) last year. Since then, the Trump administration has announced sanctions targeting the Iranian state and its entities, effectively embargoing main sectors like oil, gas, trade, and energy. Major importers of Iranian oil, including China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey, were initially granted waivers to allow them time to find alternatives.
The US scrapped these waivers in April, exposing those continuing to buy Tehran’s oil vulnerable to sanctions.
The result of that decision is clear in May’s oil export figures – halved since last month and down from 2.5 million bpd last year. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the US are expected to fill the gap left in the global oil market.
Ali Shamkhani, the head of the Supreme National Security Council in Iran, said on Thursday that the United States should compensate the country for damages when it breached obligations prior to negotiating with Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-backed Tasnim news reported.
He claimed that the Americans believe negotiations are being used to pressure Tehran, not as a possible solution to the problems.
Shamkhani added that the Iranian people know Americans do not want to solve problems through negotiations, just through instruments of psychological pressure.
This month, the United States has announced it was deploying an additional 1,500 troops to the Middle East, along with the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Group, B-52 bombers, and an amphibious assault unit.
On Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said they were open to negotiations with European countries, so long as they did not affect the defense of the Islamic Republic or the Revolution.
