After the US attack on Iran, one of Trump's biggest critics, who had made him a “useful idiot”, now admits that he “made the most important decision”. How the Americans are helping Israel defend Tel Aviv

John Bolton, President Trump's former national security adviser in his first term, ended up facing criminal charges after frequently criticizing the White House leader. Now, however, Bolton said, first on X and then in an interview, that Trump's decision to attack the Khamenei regime was “completely justified and necessary.”

Lawyer and diplomat John Bolton was Donald Trump's national security adviser and one of the most important influential figures in the White House between 2018 and 2019.

Bolton characterized Trump as “what Lenin called a useful idiot”

Then, Bolton became one of President Trump's most vocal, and opinionated, critics. In an interview for the German website Deutsche Welle, John Bolton said that “Trump does not know history, nor does he care. He does not read the summaries he receives as president. He believes that relations between states are limited to personal ones.”

“In the 19 months that I worked for him, I understood that Trump is what Lenin called a useful idiot,” characterized Bolton.

His home was raided after he argued with Trump

In August 2025, FBI agents descended on the former adviser's home. “The FBI conducted a court-authorized search of John Bolton's home as part of a national security investigation,” CNN reported.

The liberal media in the US blamed the criminal case on Trump's revenge, and the conservative media claimed that the searches were legitimate under the suspicion that Bolton took home secret documents from the time he was very close to the president.

Bolton has been a persistent advocate of a tough stance on the regime in Iran. The long-standing conflict with Trump and legal problems did not make him change his opinion. He posted on the X network that we are in front of a correct decision by the President of the USA.

Bolton then gave an interview.

Americans help Israel defend Tel Aviv

The former adviser said there was well-thought-out cooperation between the US and Israel.

“It seems well coordinated. We help them defend around Tel Aviv, and we have destroyers, like the USS Gerald R. Fordin the Mediterranean, which provides air defense. The division of labor in this operation appears to be for the United States to pursue military targets and the Israelis to pursue regime leadership. That may change, but that's the way it is right now,” Bolton told the conservative Free Press.

Bolton said that “Trump has many goals: eliminating the nuclear and ballistic programs and stopping terrorism through intermediaries, but he's been pretty clear that regime change is also a goal.”

Recognize that this is the time

Bolton admits that while he too advised Trump in his first term to remove the terrorist regime from Tehran, now was the best time: “If there was ever a good time to do it, this is it.”

“The American people's awareness of the terrorist threat should be very high because it is a real one,” said the former White House national security adviser. He argues that Iran remains a danger even though “the regime is at a very weak and unstable moment, deeply unpopular for many reasons and severely weakened by its efforts to attack Israel through Hamas and other proxies.”

What does he think can happen next?

The unpopularity of the regime was also revealed in the spontaneous demonstrations, captured on Youtube footage from Iran, which showed massive joy upon learning the news of the death of Ayatollah Alin Khamenei.

“One potential problem, however, is that he has not coordinated well or effectively enough with the opposition in Iran. This is a problem because domestic Iranian actors must go to great lengths to induce defections within the regime so that people will defect to the opposition,” Bolton argues.

John Bolton also says what may be the result. “Trump tends to favor one-and-done operations, declare victory and walk away. Having said that, I can imagine him saying after two or three days, 'We've done everything necessary. Now it's up to the Iranian people to get rid of the regime,' which I think would be a mistake.”