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Obama says U.S. may be ‘worse off’ now than before Iran war

Obama said the war and Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal left the United States with billions in costs and a strained military.

  • Former President Barack Obama heavily criticized the outcome of the 15-week war with Iran, warning in an NBC TODAY interview aired Friday that the United States may ultimately emerge from the conflict "worse off" than before it began.
  • Obama lamented the staggering human and financial toll of the conflict, pointing out that after spending billions of dollars, putting an immense strain on the U.S. military, and suffering significant casualties, the U.S. has essentially just cycled back to the pre-war status quo.
  • He welcomed the newly signed interim peace memorandum, expressing relief over the current ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, while strongly urging all participating parties to ensure the fragile truce holds.
  • The former president directly blamed the conflict on the dismantling of the 2015 nuclear pact, reminding viewers that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiated during his own administration had successfully blocked Tehran's path to a weapon before Donald Trump withdrew from it.
  • His remarks coincide with a wave of criticism from former Obama-era officials, including Ben Rhodes and Robert Malley, who labeled the war a "reckless, costly debacle" that leaves the nuclear issue unresolved and an aggressive Iranian government feeling strategically validated.
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Lean Left

After 15 weeks of war, the United States is worse off than when it and Israel attacked Iran in February, former US President Obama said in a special interview with US television network NBC News. He also believes that Trump helped develop Iran's nuclear program by canceling the 2015 agreement with Iran.

Lean Right

In a new interview, the former president questions Trump's justification for going to war with Iran.

·Denmark
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Left

Barack Obama harshly criticized the decision to have involved the U.S. in a rather costly war with Iran from which it is not yet possible to get out

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Political Wire broke the news in New York, United States on Friday, June 19, 2026.
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