Haley Says Iran's Economy Is 'Plummeting' Under US Pressure

Iran’s economy is faltering after the U.S. pulled out of a nuclear deal earlier this year and Europeans are deciding not to do business there, said Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

The U.S. position remains not to do business with European countries that engage with Iran, and while that means European leaders such as British Prime Minister Theresa May have a decision to make, companies are already acting, Haley said in an interview airing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, one of three scheduled appearances.

“If you look, they are dropping business from Iran left and right,” Haley said. “Iran’s economy is plummeting.”

President Donald Trump will address the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday and host a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, and Trump said Friday that the subject of the meeting will be Iran.

Trump is expected to argue to European leaders that the Iranian nuclear deal has been a failure, and that companies in their countries are choosing to leave Iran to maintain ties with the U.S., according to a senior administration official who discussed Trump’s UN plans on the condition of anonymity.

The U.S. isn’t seeking regime change in Iran, and rhetoric from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shows the U.S. pressure campaign is working, Haley said in a separate interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“They’re getting desperate, and I think we’re seeing the actions of that,” Haley said.

On Syria, Haley said the U.S. isn’t trying to force President Bashar al-Assad out of office, but that it’s hard to imagine him remaining in office for much longer.

“It’s a matter of time before he’s gone,’’ she said on CBS.