Barack Obama is back in the political conversation, and he’s not exactly subtle about what he thinks of Donald Trump’s foreign policy style.
In a new interview with ABC News, the former president criticized Trump’s emerging Iran agreement, saying it may end up looking a lot like the 2015 nuclear deal Trump spent years attacking and ultimately dismantling.
“It’s doubtful that any agreement negotiated by the current administration is going to be significantly different or a significant improvement,” Obama said, referring to the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
He didn’t stop there. Obama argued that the idea of “bullying or bombing” complex global problems into submission may be politically appealing—but ultimately unreliable.
“It’s a reminder that on a lot of different foreign policy problems, the notion we can just bully our way or bomb our way to a solution may sometimes seem appealing,” he said. “But it’s better to create a diplomatic solution to avoid war. You’d think we would’ve learned that lesson by now.”
The comments come as Trump claims a new U.S.-Iran framework is effectively finalized and could be formally signed in Switzerland later this week, following months of escalating tensions in the region.
But the rollout has been anything but smooth.
Over the weekend, Trump hosted a UFC event at the White House tied to his birthday celebrations—an already controversial spectacle that drew further backlash after a fighter used his post-fight interview to direct a vulgar and widely condemned remark at former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Trump later amplified praise for several fighters involved in the event on Truth Social, adding fuel to the controversy surrounding the night’s tone and messaging.
The Obamas have not publicly responded to the incident.
Obama’s latest remarks, however, focus less on the spectacle and more on substance. In his interview, he defended the original Iran agreement his administration helped negotiate, arguing it placed meaningful constraints on Iran’s nuclear program before the U.S. withdrew under Trump in 2018.
That withdrawal set off years of renewed sanctions, diplomatic breakdowns, and escalating tensions with Tehran.
Now, Trump is preparing to sign a new agreement of his own—but key details are still being worked out. Officials say the framework would require Iran to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium and accept international verification in exchange for sanctions relief, a proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund, and other economic concessions.
Those terms have already drawn comparisons to the Obama-era JCPOA, which also imposed limits on enrichment and inspections in exchange for sanctions relief, though that earlier deal involved roughly $1.7 billion in unfrozen Iranian funds.
Republicans have long criticized that deal as too lenient, arguing it failed to permanently block Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Democrats and former officials counter that it delayed Iran’s progress under strict monitoring until the agreement collapsed after the U.S. exit.
Now, with Trump preparing to unveil a new version of an Iran deal he once condemned, Obama suggested the irony may be hard to ignore.
“It is doubtful that any agreement that arises is going to be significantly different or a significant improvement from the deal that we had in the first place,” he said.
Trump, meanwhile, defended his approach during meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7, calling his agreement “a very powerful document” and contrasting it sharply with what he described as the Obama-era “terrible deal.”
“It’s not like the Obama document,” Trump said. “This is a very powerful document, and I want it to be released probably soon.”
Watch Obama’s interview below:
