ALWAGHT- Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for tougher US sanctions on Iran at the Munich Security Conference, saying economic pressure should cripple the economy and erode public support for the government.
Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for tougher sanctions on Iran while speaking at the Munich Security Conference, arguing that economic pressure should be used to cripple the economy and weaken public support for the government as a path to “regime change” without military force.
Her remarks were seen as an unusually blunt acknowledgment of the intent behind US sanctions policy, explicitly framing economic hardship as a tool to force political change rather than merely diplomatic leverage.
The comments drew criticism from analysts and journalists, including Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, who argued they reflected long-standing sanctions logic, and journalist Aaron Maté, who questioned the morality of targeting civilians to achieve political goals.
Iran has long condemned sanctions as collective punishment, while some US officials have openly acknowledged their destabilizing effects, fueling renewed debate over whether sanctions are legitimate diplomatic tools or mechanisms to impose political change through civilian suffering.
