Richard Haass

The government was beginning to lose the support of the businessmen, the so-called bazaaris, the middle-class people who own the shops.

I simply would have kept economic pressure on Iran.

And I actually think if we had done that and never started shooting,

I actually think there was a better chance of getting regime change than what we've done.

I actually think we've interrupted the whole process of regime change.

That said, the economy was weak then.

Obviously, it's weaker now.

We ought to keep pressuring them.

I don't have a specific answer saying it's nine days or 14 days or 23 days.

But every day that goes by, as you say, they're no longer putting money in their bank account.

And this is a country that ultimately needs to rebuild it.

Think about the history of the Iranian revolution.

Towards the end of the Iran-Iraq war in the 80s, the Ayatollah Khomeini basically agreed to a peace deal.

Why?

Because he needed to save the revolution.

And he said, this is like drinking poison to me, but I'm going to drink poison to save the revolution.

Well, I want to get Iran to that point again.

I want them to say it's really hard to make a deal with these Americans who have done all that they've done to us.

But if we're going to save the 79 revolution and avoid a collapse, we have got to cut a deal.

So that's why I want to put economic pressure on them.