President Donald Trump is deliberately squeezing Iran’s economy to force the country’s leadership to abandon its nuclear weapons program, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) said in an interview with Breitbart News, describing a strategy that pairs a devastating military campaign with what he called an economic blockade.
McCormick, speaking with Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow at the 2026 Republican Jewish Coalition National Leadership Summit on Aug. 31, explained why the president has opted for economic pressure over what Marlow described as simply leveling Iran with bombs.
“He said from day one, we’re going to use all the tools at our disposal,” McCormick said, according to Breitbart’s account of the conversation. He argued the military campaign has been historically effective, comparing it to the 1991 Gulf War — a conflict he himself served in and which was widely regarded at the time as the most successful high-tech war ever fought.
By McCormick’s telling, the current campaign has destroyed aircraft, manufacturing facilities, and missile launchers at a scale that dwarfs the Gulf War effort by orders of magnitude. “So we’ve definitely degraded their military capabilities dramatically — not entirely, but dramatically,” he said.
An economy under strain
The senator said the military pressure is only half the strategy. Running alongside it, he said, is an economic campaign that is steadily tightening the screws on Iran’s leadership. He cited a set of economic indicators he described as devastating: inflation running at 70 percent this calendar year, a currency that has depreciated by 40 percent, an economy that has contracted by six percent, and unemployment above ten percent. Ordinary Iranians, he said, are waiting in lines for fuel and bread.
“We’re squeezing and strangling them, and that pressure, coupled with the military pressure, we hope will get them to act more reasonably in terms of giving up their nuclear weapons program, which they have, up until this point, not been willing to do,” McCormick said. He attributed much of the economic pain to a blockade, noting that Iran’s economy is roughly 90 percent dependent on oil.
The next phase, according to McCormick, involves secondary sanctions aimed at countries that continue trading with Tehran. Under that approach, Washington would warn foreign governments that doing business with Iran will itself trigger sanctions.
“That is going to tighten the noose even further,” he said. “And that combination of things, you know, Iran faces a choice. There’s a fork in the road.”
That fork, as McCormick described it, leaves Iran with two options: continue down a path he called devastating to its country and economy, or compromise by giving up its nuclear weapons. “We hope that this will add to the pressure,” he said.
‘He wants a prosperous and successful Iran’
Asked why Trump did not simply devastate Iran’s economy outright, McCormick framed the restraint as intentional. “I think it’s wise because basically, he wants a prosperous and successful Iran,” he said.
McCormick drew a distinction between the Iranian public and the government that has ruled the country for the past 47 years. “The Iranian people here aren’t the problem. This is one of the great societies of the world,” he said. “It’s the radical lunatics that have been running the place for the last 47 years, and that’s where I think he’s focused.”
The comments offer a window into how supporters of the administration are framing the Iran campaign as it moves into a sanctions-heavy phase. Rather than a purely military confrontation, McCormick described a two-track effort: degrade Iran’s ability to project force, then use economic isolation to push its leadership toward a deal on its nuclear program.
Whether that pressure produces a compromise remains an open question. McCormick acknowledged that Tehran has so far shown no willingness to abandon its nuclear ambitions, which is precisely why, in his view, the economic vise is being tightened further.
The interview took place at the RJC’s National Leadership Summit, an annual gathering that draws prominent Republican figures and donors. Breitbart published the exchange on Sept. 10.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/10/sen-dave-mccormick-reveals-trump-strategy-economically-strangle-iran/