Charlie NashMay 4th, 2026, 6:48 am

Former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton protested on Sunday that President Donald Trump had not yet “finished the job” in Iran – urging the president to carry out regime change in Tehran and “use military force to open the Strait of Hormuz.”

During a discussion about Trump’s conflict with Iran on NewsNation’s The Hill Sunday, Bolton said:

I think the United States holds a great advantage here, but it hasn’t finished the job that was started. My definition of finishing the job is ousting the regime in Tehran, but there are steps less than that that Trump could take. I’m a little surprised that he hasn’t done it. For example, if he were to use military force to open the Strait of Hormuz, which does not involve going back to the kinds of attacks we saw three or four weeks ago, if he could do that but keep the blockade on Iranian oil shipments, that would continue to put a huge financial squeeze on Iran, but would get a lot of much needed oil out of the Gulf and into international markets. I think that is certainly something he can do to up the pressure, keep things moving, and avoid having to make some of the choices he clearly doesn’t want to make and shouldn’t have to make.

Pressed on reports of the serious depletion of the U.S. missile stockpile, Bolton rejected the suggestion that a lack of missiles would be an imminent problem in the conflict against Iran.

“I don’t think this issue, which is a serious issue in the long term, will or should affect Trump’s decision-making in the here and now,” he said.

Bolton, a Former White House national security adviser and prominent war hawk, has been no stranger to criticism against Trump’s handling of the war in Iran.

During an appearance on NewsNation’s Cuomo in March, Bolton said, “I think it’s a lot of self-inflicted mistakes, and I speak as someone who applauds the goal of overthrowing the regime in Tehran.”

Watch above via NewsNation.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!