A top US official focused on sanctions against Iran linked American financial pressure on Tehran with ongoing economic protests roiling the country, saying she hoped the strain would limit the Islamic Republic's "malign activities" across the Mideast.
Sigal P. Mandelker, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the US Treasury, declined to comment Thursday when ask if the Trump administration hoped that tightening of the sanctions would spark the Iranian government's overthrow.