Bolton labels Iranian strikes as ‘massive failure of Israeli and American deterrence’

Former national security adviser John Bolton said the Iranian strikes over the weekend represented a "massive failure" of deterrence from Israel and the United States.

"What we had tonight was a massive failure of Israeli and American deterrence. Massive failure, a 200 ballistic missile, cruise missile, drone failure. And I think notwithstanding that there appears to be very little damage, fingers crossed, until we get the final assessment. Thank God if the death toll is is low or non existent," Bolton told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Saturday night.

The U.S. helped Israel thwart an aerial assault by Iran overnight by intercepting hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles in a significant attack. Little damage was reported, and the Israeli military said that it successfully intercepted most of the missiles targeting the country.

Bolton suggested that a disproportionate response by Israel could boost deterrence in the region.

"And I think that means by definition, Israel's response — and there should be a response — should not be proportionate. It should be far stronger, because when deterrence fails to reestablish, if you have to teach the adversary that any gain they may hope to get by any future attack will be more than outweighed by the damage that will be called," he said.

Israel's war cabinet is slated to meet Sunday to discuss how they will respond.

John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, said that President Biden is "not looking" to create a larger war in the region in the wake of the attack.

“And also, Israel demonstrated again, as I said, that they’re not standing alone, that they have friends,” Kirby said on NBC's "Meet the Press". “So the president’s been clear. We don’t want to see this escalate. We’re not looking for a wider war with Iran. I think, you know, the coming hours and days will tell us a lot.