Former US President Barack Obama has said that President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal was “misguided.”
“I believe that the decision to put the deal at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake,” Obama said in a statement.
Earlier, Trump announced to pull the United States out of the deal, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The international nuclear deal was signed by the United States, five other world powers and Iran.
Obama said the Iran agreement significantly rolled back Tehran’s nuclear programme, reports Reuters.
It was a model for a possible deal Trump hopes to negotiate with North Korea to eliminate Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons, the former US president said.
“That is why today’s announcement is so misguided,” Obama said.
“Walking away from the JCPOA turns our back on America’s closest allies, and an agreement that our country’s leading diplomats, scientists, and intelligence professionals negotiated,” he said.
Since leaving office in January 2017, Obama, a Democrat, has largely remained on the sidelines of the political debate.
However, he criticised his Republican successor’s efforts to undo some of his major policy achievements.
Obama has condemned Trump for pulling out of the Paris climate accord and for ending a programme that shielded from deportation immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.
He also spoke out against Trump’s effort to unravel the Obamacare healthcare program.