Barack Obama says US is ‘worse off’ than before war with Iran | Barack Obama
Barack Obama said that after 15 weeks of war with Iran, the United States is now in a “worse situation” than before the conflict began in February.
“We’ve now waged a war, spent billions of dollars, put a huge strain on our military. A lot of people have died. And it feels like we’re back to where we were before we started the war, except we’re a little bit worse off,” the former US president said. he told NBC News in an interview published Friday.
Speaking to the press before the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago today, Obama made statements about the memorandum of understanding between the USA and Iran signed by Donald Trump in Paris earlier this week.
“I am very happy to see that the ceasefire has been reached,” Obama said. “And I hope that continues.”
Obama criticized the justification for the conflict and questioned the first Trump administration’s decision to tear up the agreement negotiated with Iran by the Obama administration in 2015. This agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), restricted Iran from acquiring or developing nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of international economic sanctions.
Obama said that under the JCPOA, “Iran agreed not to develop nuclear weapons,” but noted that Trump later “withdrew from this agreement, which caused Iran to develop further nuclear capabilities.”
The former president’s remarks came after the White House said J.D. Vance was postponing a planned trip to Switzerland to lead a new round of talks with the Islamic Republic focused on the nuclear issue.
Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Friday that future talks with the United States must respect Tehran’s “red lines”; This is likely a reference to a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of any agreement.
Speaking to Iran’s official IRNA news agency, Galibaf said, “As we have shown in previous negotiations, we are determined to respect the established conditions and red lines and defend the interests of the Iranian nation.”
“If the enemy overdoes it [in its demands]“We have proven that we are ready to retaliate and will not hesitate to respond harshly.”
Trump signed the memorandum at a dinner at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday night, and Vance trumpeted it at the White House on Thursday.
“With gas prices falling, the peace plan is already bearing fruit for America,” Vance said. “Iran’s nuclear program has been destroyed, its conventional military has been destroyed, and its capacity to threaten its neighbors is still largely destroyed.”
He asked for “some confidence” in Trump on the deal, saying the president “believes in this deal, he will see it through to completion, and if the Iranians don’t comply, we still have every tool and leverage point we have today.”
But some energy executives believe that demand for oil to replenish strategic reserves depleted during the conflict that has largely halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz could actually push global oil prices higher.
Exxon senior vice president Neil Chapman said physical oil prices could rise to $150 to $160 per barrel if oil inventories reach critical levels.
“You can debate whether this will hit really low levels in two weeks or three weeks. But once you get to that point, you’ll see prices rising rapidly,” he told a conference in New York. According to the Wall Street Journal.
Obama said in an interview on NBC’s Today that he hopes his new center — or presidential library, as such institutions are known — will serve as a reminder of what the United States has been like under his leadership.
“There is no doubt that we are going through a period of disruption, of polarization right now,” the former president said.
He added that while he understands whether people feel “our democracy, our civic habits and virtues, our shared understanding of how we treat each other are starting to crumble,” it’s still important that “we all play a role in making sure our elected officials are held accountable.”
“And that’s not something we can claim to have behind us.”
