US Senator Bill Cassidy said that the Iranians are “clearly in a state of desperation,” adding that there may be indications that sanctions against Iran are working.

Cassidy said in statements to Al Arabiya that the Iranian regime “mismanaged their economy tremendously.”

“When you read about how they [Iranian regime] can no longer fund pension funds so that retirees who depended upon those pension dollars would not have those pension dollars,” the Republican senator said.

“The United States should not encourage war, we should keep working for something which helps the Iranian people break up from underneath the yoke of a tyranny that’s keeping the Iranian nation from achieving its potential,” Cassidy added.

Cassidy’s comments come amid heightened tensions in the Arabian Gulf following an attack on oil facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco by what investigators have identified as Iranian weapons. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations an “act of war” against the Kingdom by Iran.

In that regard, Cassidy said: “You could argue that this is a cry for attention by Iranians who have no other way to break up of this stranglehold.”

Senator Cassidy pointed out that “This could be an indication that the sanctions could be achieving what they are intended to achieve, which is ideally making the Iranians understand that they have to change course.”

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:56 - GMT 06:56