Former National Security Advisor John Bolton warned on Monday that Iran can sense how "desperate" President Donald Trump is to secure a deal that its leaders are "playing him."
Bolton told CNN anchor Pamela Brown that as negotiations drag on, Tehran has sensed Trump's weaknesses — and that the president might not fully understand Iran's level of "fanaticism of what's left of the regime and the people who are in power." Bolton argued that Trump's worldview throughout his life has been that he can negotiate with anyone, and that's not the case with this military conflict and adversary.
"He thinks everybody wants to make a deal on just about anything," Bolton said. "That's not what these people are into. And they can see that Trump is so palpably desperate to have a deal that he can declare to be a victory and it lowers prices of gasoline —and they're playing him on that. They're stretching him out. They're buying time. All of that works in their advantage."
Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton says Iran is playing Trump because he’s desperate to make a deal:
He thinks everybody wants to make a deal on just about anything. That's not what these people are into. And they can see that Trump is so palpably desperate to… pic.twitter.com/7k53nc6Zqf
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 25, 2026