Former US President Barack Obama has criticised Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran, saying a 2015 nuclear deal had restricted Tehran’s nuclear programme without the use of military force.
Speaking at an election rally in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday, 24 October, Obama said Iran had not acquired a nuclear weapon because of the agreement negotiated during his presidency with Tehran and world powers.
“Iran did not have a nuclear weapon because I had negotiated a deal that everyone acknowledged prevented Iran from getting a nuclear weapon,” he said. “I didn’t have to fire a missile to do it. I just had to use diplomacy.”
Obama criticised Trump for withdrawing the US from the nuclear deal in 2018 and subsequently launching a war against Iran. He argued that Washington had abandoned a diplomatic approach in favour of military action.
The former president also said US allies and military bases had come under attack, American service personnel had been killed and hundreds more wounded. He added that US missile stockpiles had been depleted.
Obama said Iran now had significant leverage over oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy supplies. He linked the situation to rising oil and diesel prices, as well as the cost of other goods in the US.
He also criticised US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing the Trump administration of focusing on less important issues instead of addressing the country’s main challenges.
The speech was part of the Democratic Party’s campaign ahead of the US midterm elections on 3 November.
