Former White House national security adviser John Bolton slammed the Biden administration for publicly opposing the possibility of Israel striking nuclear sites or oil fields in Iran.

President Biden remarked at a press conference on Friday: “If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields.”

Speaking with CNN hours later, Bolton said: “Iran is an enemy of the United States. It has been a state sponsor of terrorism since the Reagan administration. What the president is doing is publicly telling an enemy what he thinks an ally should do. He should put a sock in it and stop talking about it.”

Bolton added that Biden is trying to pressure Israel by speaking publicly about the issue rather than holding a private discussion with Israeli officials.

On Sunday, NewsNation’s “The Hill,” host Chris Stirewalt asked Bolton about President Biden’s comments on Friday.

Bolton said that he was so shocked by Biden’s comments that he initially thought it was another sign of Biden’s waning mental capacity. “My first reaction was, it was just incompetence, or maybe it was mental capacity, or lack thereof,” he said.

“But I think it’s pretty clear — because of a number of things he said, including one day last week saying, well, the Israeli attack won’t occur tonight — I think he’s trying to pressure Israel. I think he’s trying to put him in a box. I think all he cares about is avoiding this becoming a bigger issue than it already is before Nov. 5,” Bolton said, adding that oil prices are “one aspect” of that dynamic.

Bolton also slammed Biden for interfering in internal Israeli affairs. “I just think it’s wrong for an American president to speak publicly about what an American ally might do to an American enemy,” Bolton said. “We sure wouldn’t appreciate it if our quote, unquote allies were doing that to us.”

Israel’s Kan News reported on Monday that the Biden administration has offered Israel extensive diplomatic backing and additional military assistance if they refrained from striking certain targets in Iran, likely to include nuclear sites.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)