Barack Obama says US is ‘worse off’ than before war with Iran

Barack Obama at the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center on 18 June 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Photograph: Taylor Hill/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Barack Obama at the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center on 18 June 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Photograph: Taylor Hill/Getty Images Barack Obama says US is ‘worse off’ than before war with Iran Former president nevertheless said in an interview that he was happy to see a ceasefire with Iran and hopes it holds Analysis: Iran peace deal makes clear how far US has been forced to retreat since 2025 Barack Obama has said that after 15 weeks of war with Iran , the US is now “worse off” than before the conflict started in February. “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,” the former US president told NBC News in an interview that aired on Friday. Obama, who spoke to the outlet before the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago today, offered remarks on the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran signed by Donald Trump in Paris earlier this week. What’s in – and what’s not in – the US-Iran peace deal Read more “I am very happy to see a ceasefire,” Obama said. “And I’m hopeful that it holds.” Obama has been critical of the rationale for the conflict and questioned the first Trump administration’s decision to tear up the 2015 agreement with Iran that was negotiated by the Obama administration. Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, that deal restricted Iran from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon in exchange for lifting international economic sanctions. Obama said that under the JCPOA, “Iran had agreed not to develop nuclear weapons”, but noted that Trump then “pulled out of it, which caused then Iran to develop more nuclear capacity”. The former president’s remarks come as the White House said that JD Vance had delayed a planned trip to Switzerland to lead a new round of talks with the Islamic republic focusing on the nuclear issue. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator, said on Friday that future talks with the US must respect Tehran’s “red lines”, a likely reference to a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of any agreement. “As we have demonstrated throughout previous negotiations, we remain steadfast in respecting the established conditions and red lines, and in defending the interests of the Iranian nation,” Ghalibaf was quoted as saying by Iran’s official IRNA news agency. “If the enemy becomes excessive [in its demands], we have proven that we are ready to retaliate and will not hesitate to deliver a stinging response.” Trump signed the memorandum during a dinner at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday night, with Vance trumpeting it on Thursday at the White Hou