TEHRAN – In reaction to the ouster of White House national security advisor John Bolton by Donald Trump on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted, “Thirst for war—maximum pressure—should go with the warmonger-in-chief”.

Bolton was notoriously famous for his ultra-hawkish stance toward Iran. He was pushing for regime change in Iran.

Zarif had called Bolton part of the B-team who were encouraging Trump to start a war against Iran.

The other members of the B-team are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed.

Immediately after Bolton’s dismissal, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced new sanctions against Iran in a joint press conference.

“As the world—minus 3 or 2 panicked cohorts—was breathing a sigh of relief over ouster of #B_Team’s henchman in the White House, Pompeo & Mnuchin declared further escalation of #EconomicTerrorism against Iran,” Zarif wrote on his Twitter account on Wednesday.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Wednesday that Bolton’s firing will not change Iran’s understanding of the nature of Washington’s policies.

“The historic and deep-rooted hostility of the U.S. government towards the Iranian nation is something beyond the roles that officials play,” Press TV quoted him as saying.

He added, “The dismissal and installation of the U.S. officials and their presence in different positions would not change Iran’s understanding of the nature of the U.S. measures and policies, as both [Barack] Obama and Trump... pursued a similar policy of sanctions against the Iranian nation.”

NA/PA