Former U.S. President Barack Obama said in an NBC interview that the U.S. is "back where we were before starting the war" with Iran, "except, maybe a little bit worse off." Obama noted the war cost billions of dollars, put enormous strain on the military, and resulted in many deaths.
Former President Barack Obama expanded on his criticism of the Trump administration's Iran policy in an NBC Today interview published Wednesday morning. Obama argued that the military campaign against Iran, which President Donald Trump has touted as a success, resulted in a position no better — and possibly worse — than when the conflict began. "We've now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, put enormous strain on our military. A lot of people have died," Obama said. The remarks follow a series of statements by Obama in recent weeks criticizing the emerging U.S.-Iran deal as similar to the 2015 JCPOA he negotiated, which he argues worked until the U.S. withdrew. His latest interview adds direct criticism of the war itself, not just the diplomatic outcome. As The Zioneer has previously reported, Obama's comments come amid an intensifying U.S. political debate over the war's costs and benefits, with Trump defenders touting operational gains. The former president did not offer an alternative plan for the remaining 60 days of the current agreement.
The thread on this story began on Sun Jun 14, 2026, when Obama first commented on the emerging deal, saying it was unlikely to differ significantly from the JCPOA (as The Zioneer reported at 21:43 Jerusalem, citing Channel 12). By Tue Jun 16, President Trump responded, calling Obama "sold Israel for Iran" (13:46 Jerusalem), and separately The Wall Street Journal reported the deal would allow immediate Iranian oil exports (20:00 Jerusalem). On Thu Jun 18, a Trump 2017 tweet resurfaced in which he said Iran was "on the brink of collapse" before the JCPOA (08:34 Jerusalem, via Abu Ali Express). On Sat Jun 20, Obama released a statement attacking the deal as returning to a status quo "worse than before" (07:43 Jerusalem); hours later, Trump accused the "radical left" of failing to understand the war's success (14:41 Jerusalem). On Tue Jun 30, Obama gave the NBC interview that initially framed the deal itself as similar to the JCPOA (published 16:41 Jerusalem). In this Wednesday morning update (Jul 1), Obama added the war's financial and human costs as a central criticism.
Throughout the thread, Obama's position has remained consistent: the deal resembles the JCPOA, which he argues worked until U.S. withdrawal. Trump has alternately accused Obama of betraying Israel and defended the war's operational success. The corroboration of Obama's remarks has evolved from a circulating statement (Jun 20) to on-record NBC interviews (Jun 30, Jul 1). The Zioneer has previously reported on the broader U.S. political debate, including Trump's June 16 claim of ending "ten wars" and the WSJ report on sanctions relief.
It remains open what precise concessions the emerging deal offers Iran beyond resumed oil exports — The Wall Street Journal report of immediate export permission has not been independently confirmed by The Zioneer. Obama did not propose an alternative plan for the remaining 60 days of the current agreement.
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