Hawk: Tehran has spent 16 billion dollars on its militias and we hope Iraq will stay away from it

Shafaq News/ Iran has spent 16 billion dollars on its "militias" in Iraq and Syria, U.S. special envoy to Iran Brian Hawk said on Thursday.

"During one year of sanctions, Iran's sales fell from 2.5 million barrels to 120,000 barrels," Hawk told Al -Arabiya TV, adding that the sanctions had caused Iran's oil sector to collapse.

"The Iranian regime is economically weak today because of sanctions compared to the situation two years ago," Hawk said.

Hawke explained that the sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran were caused by its "destabilizing behavior in the region," recalling that Washington announced "the establishment of a mechanism with Swiss banks to allow the export of humanitarian and medical materials to Iran."

Hawke also stressed that Washington looks forward to "Iraqi steps towards moving away from economic dependence on Iran."