Obama says Iran war left U.S. in weaker position than before conflict

The memorandum does not fully resolve questions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Former President Barack Obama criticized the U.S. war against Iran and questioned whether the conflict improved Washington’s position, while a leading Republican senator argued that the new agreement with Tehran provides significantly greater benefits than the 2015 nuclear accord.

Speaking with NBC “TODAY” co-host Craig Melvin in an interview that aired Friday, Obama said the outcome of the conflict left the United States in a position similar to where it stood before the war.

“We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military. A lot of people have died. And it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse off,” Obama said.

Obama made the comments ahead of the public opening of the Obama Presidential Center when asked about the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran.

“I am very happy to see a ceasefire. And I’m hopeful that it holds,” he said.

The former president also defended the nuclear agreement reached during his administration, saying, “Iran had agreed not to develop nuclear weapons.”

“This administration, or a prior version of this administration, pulled out of it, which caused then Iran to develop more nuclear capacity,” Obama said.

President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement in 2018 during his first term. The deal established a framework of measures extending over more than 25 years aimed at limiting Iran’s ability to obtain or develop a nuclear weapon.

President Donald Trump signed the current memorandum of understanding during a dinner at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday night.

The agreement gives negotiators 60 days to reach a permanent arrangement to end the conflict. The memorandum does not fully resolve questions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., sharply criticized the agreement and compared it unfavorably with the Obama-era accord.

“Specifically, the $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran — though not funded by U.S. taxpayers — would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison,” Wicker told Fox News.

Wicker also objected to sanctions relief and efforts to restrain Israeli action against Hezbollah, calling the group “an Iranian-backed terrorist organization that continues to attack Israel on its northern border.”

“The Iranian regime has not renounced its ultimate goal — ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’” Wicker said. “The regime will invest every penny it receives to further that aim.”