White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday it was not a mistake to ease sanctions on Iran, rejecting a recent report that the lessened sanctions are undermining U.S. influence in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.
Fox News's Ed Henry asked Earnest to comment on Eli Lake's report in the Daily Beast that Iran's economy has rebounded since the United States eased up on sanctions, and as a consequence the U.S. and its allies find themselves with little leverage as they work to negotiate a nuclear deal.
Earnest called the move part of a "very structured and specific plan from the P5+1 to bring Iran to the negotiating table."
Henry continued to press the question, proposing that "now you take the boot off the throat and they're putting unworkable plans on the table."
Earnest replied that "There's no question that the strategy that has been employed has succeeded in uniting the international community, has succeeded in bringing the Iranians to the negotiating table in a serious way, and has succeeded in rolling back the Iranian nuclear program."
