Blumenthal: ‘Iran Has a Lot of Cards’ in Negotiations with Trump

Thursday on CNN’s “News Central,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) claimed Iran had “a lot of cards” in its negotiations with President Donald Trump.

Partial transcript as follows:

JOHN BERMAN: So again — and we don’t know specifics of this one-page document but the broad framework sort of an extension with the discussion on the major issues to come. Where would that leave Iran in terms of the strength of the regime today and tomorrow versus the beginning of February?

BLUMENTHAL: Iran is weakened in terms of its missile and drone capacity and its production, but the hardliners are very much in control. It is weakened economically, certainly, but it is in control of the strait and it’s going to insist that it continue to be in control. And the question really is, John, as you have identified very correctly, will they have some lesser enrichment of uranium such as the JCPOA. So where Trump is now headed seems to be very much the JCPOA 2.0, maybe slightly changed, and it could have been the result of negotiations; not a war that was based on a fundamental miscalculation.

BERMAN: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says, and I’m paraphrasing here, essentially the United States holds all the cards. Is that how you see it? Does Iran have no cards this morning?

BLUMENTHAL: Iran has a lot of cards and you’re seeing them in real time. Americans are paying much higher prices for gasoline — but not just for fuel, also for food. Everything from mattresses to medical devices. Everything dependent on petrochemicals and plastics. And the world economy is at risk all because Iran still holds cards. And here’s the lesson. You can’t count on war being quick and easy. You can’t base it on bombast and bluster or bombing alone. And the costs of this war have yet to be fully felt or calculated. And I would emphasize this point. This administration has concealed at lot of the costs. I’ve asked repeatedly in classified settings as well as in open hearings — most recently when Hegseth came before the Congress in a hearing last week — what are the costs of this war? And so far, they’ve stonewalled and really stalled us and the American people.

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