Bolton Pushing Trump to Force Iran Out of Nuclear Deal Before 2020 Election

National Security Adviser John Bolton has been trying to push President Trump into more and more hardline positions on Iran since taking over the post. Now, reports are that Bolton is trying to convince Trump that he has to do something to force Iran to withdraw from the P5+1 nuclear deal before the 2020 election.

The US withdrew from the nuclear deal already, but Iran has so far tried to maintain the deal with the remaining five signatories, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China. Iran has expressed annoyance at the nations’ inability to circumvent US sanctions, but has remained committed to the deal in general.

Bolton is arguing that several Democrats are already criticizing Trump for withdrawing from the deal, and that if he doesn’t get the deal destroyed entirely before the November 2020 vote, it could become a political problem for his campaign.

While US officials have insisted the deal is as good as dead since Trump withdrew from it, and have tried to convince the EU nations to withdraw as well, so far there is little sign of that happening. It’s also not clear how the US might force Iran out of the deal, since they have no powers under the deal since leaving the deal.