US Ambassador to UN Mike Waltz says Iran fears economic sanctions over military attacks

Jerusalem Post/World News“When Iran is coming to the table with our negotiators, they are talking about cash, cash, cash. Because they’ll absorb the bombings," Waltz said in an interview with Fox News.Follow us on Google U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz speaks with the media following meetings with a Ukrainian delegation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 11, 2025.(photo credit: SAUL LOEB/POOL VIA REUTERS)ByLEO FEIERBERG BETTER, ESTHER DAVISAUGUST 10, 2026 06:41Updated: AUGUST 10, 2026 09:08Iran is more afraid of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent than Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.“When they’re coming to the table with our negotiators, they are talking about cash, cash, cash. Because they’ll absorb the bombings," he said."They don’t care about their military, they don’t care about their soldiers, or even the Iranian people after they massacred 40,000 of them.”“This is a corrupt elite religious fanatic regime that has devastated that country for many, many decades. They are asking for access to cash, access to their assets that we have frozen; that’s the squeeze. That coupled with the blockade, that’s what’s going to eventually get the Iranians to move.”US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, August 7, 2026 (credit: REUTERS/ELIZABETH FRANTZ)Trump, US officials emphasize strain on Iran's economy US President Donald Trump also emphasized the economic pressure on Iran in a phone call with Axios on Sunday. "We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money," he stated.One US official told Axios that during active warfare, Tehran can temporarily avoid dealing with the economic consequences of the fighting, but as strikes have paused, it is forced to confront the reality of its economic situation, with no solution easily available. Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report. Follow us on Google