Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton slammed President Joe Biden‘s recent comments that Israel should seek “other alternatives” than striking Iran after the Arab country launched a missile barrage on the Jewish nation earlier this week.

Speaking on NewsNation’s The Hill on Sunday, Bolton was asked to respond to Biden’s comments from a surprise appearance at a White House press briefing, specifically whether Biden’s suggestion that Israel should avoid striking oil fields in Iran is a “mistake.”

“Well, at first when I heard that — and also the comment where Biden said Israel should not go after Iran’s nuclear weapons program — my first reaction was it was just incompetence, or maybe it was mental capacity, or lack thereof,” he said.

Bolton added that he thinks Biden is trying to “pressure” Israel and “put ’em in a box,” and that “all he cares about” is trying to prevent the conflict in the Middle East from being a bigger issue before Election Day.

“I think it’s pretty clear because of a number of things he said … I think he’s trying to pressure Israel, I think he’s trying to put ’em in a box. I think all he cares about is avoiding this becoming a bigger issue than it already is before Nov. 5. I think petroleum prices are one aspect of it,” he said.

He also added that it is “wrong” for a U.S. president to speak publicly about what a U.S. ally might do to an enemy of the United States because “we wouldn’t appreciate it if our ‘allies’ were doing that to us.”

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Israel has expanded its conflict with Lebanon, including a Saturday strike on Tripoli, the second-largest city in the country.

Tensions in the U.S. are also expected to be high as the anniversary of Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists crossed into Israel and killed nearly 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, is Monday.