Obama Says U.S. Worse Off With Iran After War and Nuclear Deal Fallout

Former President Barack Obama said in an NBC interview that, despite the ceasefire with Iran and the new agreement, the United States is in a worse position now than before the war began. He said he is glad the ceasefire was reached and hopes it lasts, but argued that the conflict has cost the U.S. billions of dollars, strained the military and caused many deaths.

Obama said, “We fought a war now, spent billions of dollars, put enormous strain on our military. Many people died. And it feels like we are back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little worse.” He added, “I am very happy to see a ceasefire. I hope it holds.”

He also criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, saying the move pushed Tehran closer to a nuclear capability. Referring to the JCPOA, Obama said Iran had agreed not to develop nuclear weapons under the accord, but that a later version of the Trump administration pulled out, which led Iran to develop greater nuclear capability.

Obama’s remarks came as Iran said it would not send representatives to the signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding with the United States, which was scheduled for Friday in Switzerland.