Booker and Rubio Spar Over Iran’s Economy and U.S. Policy at Senate Hearing

Sen. Cory Booker told Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting that President Donald Trump’s failure to end the conflict that began in February has left the Iranian regime in a stronger negotiating position than ever.

Booker said Tehran’s ability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz has produced a surge in global energy prices since transit through the waterway was stopped in March.

“We are the strongest nation on the planet Earth, and we’re in a stalemate with Iran,” he said. ” Rubio rejected the characterization. “There’s no one begging,” he said. “No one’s begging for anything here.

The secretary of state said Iran has suffered the harshest economic consequences from the blockade. He noted that popular uprisings had already occurred in Iran before the United States launched Operation Epic Fury. “All of those factors, economic factors in Iran, are far worse today than they were six months ago, when those protests were happening,” Rubio said.

Rubio added that Iran now faces hyperinflation, a completely devalued currency, and difficulty meeting payroll for government workers. He said that if the decision rested with Iran’s political class, the country would probably agree to a deal tomorrow, but that the supreme leader and religious authorities are preventing such an agreement.