Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, believes sanctions on Iran could lead to a "successful revolution" in the country.
In May, the Trump administration decided to re-impose sanctions on Tehran and to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 international nuclear treaty.
Despite the move, Washington has maintained a change of administration in Tehran is not U.S. policy. But Giuliani appeared to contradict that stance on Saturday when he spoke at an Iran Uprising Summit held by the Organization of Iranian-American Communities, which opposes Tehran's government.
"I don't know when we're going to overthrow them," Giuliani was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"It could be in a few days, months, a couple of years. But it's going to happen.
"The people of Iran obviously have now had enough. The sanctions are working. The currency is going to nothing […] these are the kinds of conditions that lead to successful revolution."
The stated aim of the sanctions on Iran is to curb the country's nuclear program and to ensure it hals militancy in the Middle East.
Giuliani, however, has previously indicated the move was aimed at destabilizing the government in Tehran. Addressing the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran in June, he said the economic sanctions would "suffocate" Iran's ayatollahs.
Last month, Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton insisted Washington was not involved with any policy designed to usher in a "regime change" in Tehran.
Bolton, however, conceded the Trump administration wanted to see a significant change in approach from the Iranian government.
The U.S. State Department has indicated Giuliani does not speak on behalf of the administration on matters concerning Washington's policy on Iran.
However, the comments are likely to revive tensions between the two countries particularly as they came shortly before Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused the U.S. of behaving like a "bully" and of wanting to create instability in the country.
"The small puppet countries in the region are backed by America, and the United States is provoking them and giving them the necessary capabilities," Reuters reported Rouhani as saying before leaving Tehran to fly to New York, where he will attend the U.N. General Assembly this week.
Rouhani was speaking only a day after 25 people were killed during a military parade in the Islamic Republic in the city of Ahvaz. Among the victims, 12 were part of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and the attack was one of the worst ever aimed at the corp - the country's most powerful military force.
Speaking of the U.S. sanctions, Rouhani added: "Hopefully we will overcome these sanctions with the least possible costs and make America regret its aggressiveness towards other countries, and particularly Iran."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more
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