US President Donald Trump criticised former US President Barack Obama, saying he made a "mistake with Iran." Trump, in his address, did not directly mention the Iran nuclear deal, which was signed by the US during the Obama administration.
"The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed by Barack Obama, was a mistake," said Trump. He added that he was honoured to correct it during his first term as President. The US President further added that "Iran was laughing at us" after the deal, which it continued its attempts to build a nuclear weapon. "I terminated Barack Hussein Obama's Iran nuclear deal—a disaster. Obama gave them $1.7 billion in cash... in an attempt to buy their respect and loyalty, but it didn't work. They laughed at our president and went on with their mission to have a nuclear bomb," Trump added.
Trump asserted that Obama's Iran deal would have resulted in a colossal arsenal of massive nuclear weapons for Iran. He claimed that the Iranians would have used the weapons years ago. "It would have been a different world. There would be no Israel and no Middle East right now, in my opinion, and the opinion of a lot of great experts."
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The JCPPOA was signed in 2015 between Iran and several other countries. The deal placed notable restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. However, Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, claiming it failed to curb Iran's missile programme. He also claimed that Iran began ignoring limitations on its nuclear programme a year later.
In his address on Thursday (Indian time), Trump said, "From the very first day I announced my campaign, I vowed that I would never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. This fanatical regime has been chanting 'Death to America' for 47 years—and it should have been handled long before I arrived in office."
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Trump referred to his first term, saying he did what no other President was willing to do. "They made mistakes, and I am correcting them." He also mentioned the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in 2020, saying, "Soleimani was an evil genius. Brilliant, but horrible. Eliminating him was a big achievement."
The Middle East conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran has been ongoing for more than a month, with military action, diplomatic tensions, and global concerns continuing to escalate.