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Obama: US worse off after Iran war than before Trump initiated it
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Conflict & Security

Obama: US worse off after Iran war than before Trump initiated it

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Former US President Barack Obama stated the US is worse off following the war on Iran than before President Trump initiated it.
  • Obama noted that the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal led to Iran developing more nuclear capacity, and the subsequent war has yielded little positive outcome.
  • Experts suggest Iran, despite damages, holds a stronger geopolitical position and is unlikely to concede on missile and proxy support issues in future talks.

Former US President Barack Obama believes the United States is in a worse strategic position regarding Iran than before President Donald Trump launched the war. Obama highlighted that the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated during his administration, had Iran agreeing not to develop nuclear weapons. He argued that the US withdrawal from this deal prompted Iran to increase its nuclear capacity.

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.

— Barack ObamaFormer US President Barack Obama discussing the war on Iran.

In an interview aired Friday, Obama stated that the war has cost billions, strained the US military, and resulted in casualties, with seemingly no improvement in the situation. He suggested the US is back to where it started, possibly in a worse state.

The planned talks between the US, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan have been postponed.

— Swiss foreign ministryAnnouncing the postponement of follow-up talks after a memorandum of understanding.

Meanwhile, a memorandum of understanding was signed, setting a deadline for a permanent deal. However, planned follow-up talks involving the US, Iran, Qatar, and Pakistan were postponed. Experts cited by AFP indicated that despite significant damages from US and Israeli airstrikes, Iran has emerged with greater geopolitical influence, particularly over the Strait of Hormuz. They also noted that the memorandum did not address Iranian conventional forces or proxy support, areas where Iran is expected to make no concessions.

Nothing in the MOU prejudices, one way or the other, the future status of the stock of enriched uranium in Iran, new enrichment-related activities, or inspections.

— Richard HaassFormer president of the Council on Foreign Relations commenting on the memorandum of understanding.

Analysts like Richard Haass and Alan Eyre of the Middle East Institute expressed concerns. Haass pointed out that the memorandum does not prejudice the future status of Iran's enriched uranium stock, enrichment activities, or inspections. Eyre described the current strategic situation as much worse for the US than in the 2010-2015 period, with Iran's nuclear program being significantly more advanced.

The Iranian nuclear program is a lot more advanced now.

— Alan EyreDistinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute on the current state of Iran's nuclear program.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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