New Zealand’s Nuclear Ban ‘A Mistake’: John Bolton

The former US National Security Advisor said New Zealand ’should recognise there’s a difference between nuclear weapons and nuclear power.’

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks to reporters after speaking in a panel hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran–U.S. Representative Office (NCRI-US) at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington on Aug. 17, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Former U.S. National Security Advisor and Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, says New Zealand risks being “spun off on its own” if it continues to insist that no nuclear-powered vessels enter its waters. He added it needs to “recognise there’s a difference between nuclear weapons and nuclear power—even on naval warships.”

Speaking to Radio NZ, Bolton—U.S. Assistant Attorney General under U.S. President Ronald Reagan when the ban was introduced in 1984— said that while he disagrees with the policy, the United States has “learned to deal with it.”