Withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal a mistake, says Barack Obama

Walking away from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is a mistake, former US president Barack Obama said, asserting that the deal negotiated by his administration had worked in rolling back Iran's nuclear programme.

"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 yesterday after US President Donald Trump announced to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal and signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on Iran.

The Iranian nuclear deal was a signature foreign policy accomplishment of the Obama administration. The former president said without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East.

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.