Trump's 'misguided' decision was a 'serious mistake', says Obama

The Iranian nuclear deal was a signature foreign policy accomplishment of the Obama administration in 2015. It was negotiated and agreed to by Iran and the P5+1 (the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany), granting Tehran sanctions relief and returning frozen assets in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme and international inspections.

The 56-year-old former president said without the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the US could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East. "I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake," Obama said in a rare statement issued after Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal and signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on Tehran.

Noting that all are aware of the dangers of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, he said it could embolden an already dangerous regime, threaten friends with destruction, pose unacceptable dangers to America's own security and trigger an arms race in the world's most dangerous region. "If the constraints on Iran's nuclear programme under the JCPOA are lost, we could be hastening the day when we are faced with the choice between living with that threat, or going to war to prevent it,"

he said.