WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran is feeling the bite from economic sanctions imposed over its nuclear program, which is capable of producing a weapon although Iranian leaders have not yet decided to do so, top U.S. intelligence chiefs told Congress on Tuesday.
"The sanctions have been biting much, much more literally in recent weeks than they have until this time," CIA Director David Petraeus said at a Senate intelligence committee hearing.
"What we have to see now is how does that play out, what is the level of popular discontent inside Iran, does that influence the strategic decision-making of the Supreme Leader and the regime, keeping in mind that the regime's paramount goal in all that they do is their regime survival," he said.
Iran's currency, the rial, has lost "considerable value" and there have been "runs on the bank" as Iranians try to dump domestic currency and acquire assets that will hold value better as inflation "takes off," Petraeus said.
