09:04 20.5.2026
Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said the Iranian government’s financial resources are “running out” and that the country’s economy is “in a state of collapse.”
He added, however, that the Islamic republic, “instead of turning to a new and peaceful approach, has carried out repeated and brazen attacks against civilian electricity infrastructure and continues to cling to a strategy of acquiring nuclear weapons that could plunge the world into darkness.”
He stressed that “we cannot tolerate this and never will.”
Waltz’s comments came as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi claimed Tehran had inflicted major costs on the United States during the conflict.
In a post on X late on May 19, Araqchi claimed the US Congress had acknowledged the loss of “dozens of aircraft worth billions” during the war and said Iran’s armed forces were the first to shoot down an F-35 fighter jet.
He also claimed that any renewed conflict would bring “many more surprises,” but did not elaborate.
Source: blockade-gulf-israel/33640284.html?lbis=455685
Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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