Former President Obama says U.S. appears back to status quo or worse after Iran conflict

Former President Barack Obama said the United States has either returned to the status quo or is “worse off” now than before the war on Iran began 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,” Obama said in an interview with “TODAY” co-host Craig Melvin that aired Friday.

Ceasefire and new agreement Obama welcomed a ceasefire reached after the conflict and expressed hope that it would hold. He also commented on a memorandum of understanding signed between the U.S. and Iran during a dinner at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday night.

The MOU sets a 60-day deadline for negotiators to reach a more permanent deal to end the conflict. Obama noted that the current agreement does not fully address the fate of Iran’s nuclear program.

Nuclear deal reference Obama said that under the Iran nuclear deal negotiated during his administration, “Iran had agreed not to develop nuclear weapons.” He added that withdrawal from that 2015 agreement caused Iran to develop more nuclear capacity.

Presidential center opening Obama made the remarks ahead of the public opening of the Obama Presidential Center. He described the center as a reminder of what America was like under his leadership and said it highlights the civic responsibility citizens share to keep government accountable.