Iran expanding reach, omitted from US terror list
As Iran expands its reach into South America, the US omits both the nation and Hezbollah from its terror threat list
This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," March 17, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Why and how could U.S. intelligence officials scrap both Iran and Hezbollah from the list of terror threats. Former U.N. ambassador John Bolton joins us.
Ambassador, nice to see you. You don't believe this formatting excuse, do you? That's why Iran and Hezbollah is out of this list of terrorists.
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER U.N. AMBASSADOR: It's a flat lie. The format of this year's report is exactly the same as last year's report. Don't believe me. Go look on the web. Compare the two of them. It's exactly the same.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did they think that we are that stupid?
BOLTON: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Believe it's format.
BOLTON: Yes. Look, the people who would say this is a format change are weasels. You ask yourselves.
VAN SUSTEREN: Liars, lying weasels.
BOLTON: Lying weasels. You ask yourself how could this happen? I think there is a pretty clear explanation. I think the Iranian negotiators told the American negotiators you have got to start going easy on us on this terrorism stuff because what they want is not simply to be freed from the sanctions that were imposed because of the nuclear program, they want to be freed from the sanctions that have been imposed 30-plus years because of their state sponsorship of terrorism. So what we're having now is Orwellian example of disappearing references to Iran and its proxy Hezbollah from the terrorism report.
VAN SUSTEREN: I think this is stunning. It's going to be an easier sell to the U.N. to lift the sanctions if they aren't on the state sponsored terrorism number one. Number two is I don't like it done behind our back. Number three, I don't like the lie that it's done for formatting. It's terrible. I mean, that's just absurd.
BOLTON: Yeah. Well, I think congressional committees should have John Brennan in front of him and just not let him go until he admits that he is going to withdraw the report and put the truth back in. There is another aspect of this. This was a concession I think by the administration relating to the nuclear negotiation. You will not find in the signed deal. How many other concessions has the administration made that are not in the deal that may not even be related to the nuclear program in this desperate effort to get a deal?
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Here is what else I don't like when I raised it to Catherine [Herridge]. In Bolivia, heavily guarded facilities in Bolivia funded by Iran. What in the world is in that heavily guarded facility?
BOLTON: Look, Iran has terrorist networks all over this hemisphere. Remember, three years ago the Justice Department indicted senior officials of the revolutionary guards corps for conspiring to kill Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States in Washington by infiltrating through the Mexican border. I think this is just another example of Iran's activities.
VAN SUSTEREN: I hate to be so wildly conspiratorial. They buried their nuclear weapons program in mountain side in Iran, and lied about it. Now, we find out that they have this heavily guarded thing in Bolivia. And Bolivia is not our friend. So naturally, I'm a bit suspicious.
BOLTON: Well, in Venezuela as well, which has the largest reserves of uranium outside of Canada ad the whole world, heavy Iranian presence.
VAN SUSTEREN: I hope I'm being wild. My imagination is running wild, I hope.
BOLTON: Maybe we could ask our intelligence services to see if they can find it.
VAN SUSTEREN: Anyway, ambassador, nice to see you, sir.
BOLTON: Thank you.
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