Exclusive: Ex-Trump official: US-Iran framework is ‘enormously helpful’ to Iran | CNN Business

The diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran is a potential gamechanger for Iran’s war-battered economy, former Trump energy secretary Dan Brouillette told CNN in an exclusive interview. The 14-point framework agreement, signed by President Donald Trump this week, delivers an immediate lifeline to Iran by allowing the OPEC nation to restart its economic engine: selling oil and fuel. “It’s enormously helpful to them,” said Brouillette, now a distinguished visiting fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. Brouillette, who served as US energy secretary between 2019 and 2021, said the US blockade of Iran was “very effective” in forcing Tehran to the negotiating table by piling pressure on the Iranian economy. Inflation in Iran has skyrocketed above 50%. Unemployment is rampant. And basic goods are in short supply. “The people of Iran need to be optimistic about their future,” Brouillette said. “Part of being optimistic is that they’re going to have some of this infrastructure rebuilt, so they have an economic future.” The US-Iran framework has sparked a bipartisan backlash, with some arguing it provides too much support for Ir