Iran sanctions had 'enormous' economic consequences: John Bolton
National security adviser John Bolton on Monday said that sanctions have had an “enormous” effect on Iran’s economy.
“We’ve already seen the consequences in Iran,” Bolton told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo. “The rial, the currency, has declined by 70 percent since the sanctions, inflation has quadrupled. The country is in recession.”
The president in May pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal made by the Obama administration. And because of this big businesses have pulled out and cut back investments.
“This is going to cut into Iran’s ability to continue their nuclear program, to finance terrorism and to engage in military activity around the Middle East and I think we’re already seeing that,” said Bolton.
But the sanctions on Iranian oil exports also reportedly exempt several of the world’s largest economies. Although Bolton remained tight-lipped on which countries they included, he hinted that a Trump announcement may come as soon as Monday, and they are Trump’s attempt to apply “maximum pressure.”
“The aim is to drive Iranian oil exports to zero. We’re working with other countries to get alternative supplies for countries that are buying and I think that’s critical over an extended period of time,” he said.
“But let’s be clear: We’re going to have sanctions that even go beyond this. We’re not simply going to be content with the level of sanctions that existed under Obama in 2015 — more are coming.”