Former Ambassador John Bolton says Iran fears Netanyahu more than Biden

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said Friday that a major concern on the national security front is that Iran fears Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more than President Joe Biden. 

"I do think it's correct as you say, that Iran fears Netanyahu and the Israelis a lot more than they fear Biden and the United States today and that should tell us all something," Bolton said on the "John Solomon Reports" podcast. 

Israel has been at war with the terrorist group Hamas since Oct. 7 of last year on when the group launched a surprise attack on the Jewish state that left 1,200 dead. 

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed last week in Iran as part of an alleged Israeli strike and was recently replaced by Yahya Sinwar.

Reports indicate that Iran will retaliate against Israel as a result. 

"The problem for Iran is they fear, correctly I think, that this time Joe Biden is not going to pressure Netanyahu into a small response if Iran really strikes Israel hard," Bolton said. "This time, Israel will go after real significant targets, up to and including Iran's nuclear weapons program."

"So Iran's got a real problem," he continued. "If it doesn't strike Israel hard, it will look like a failed terror state, and if it does, it risks a really substantial Israeli response."