President Donald Trump tore into former President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal on Sunday, accusing him of empowering Tehran while defending his own military action against Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Obama signed that stupid deal where he paid them billions and billions of dollars, he thought he could bribe them,” Trump told Kristen Welker during a “Meet the Press” interview in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump made the comments after Welker challenged him on Iran\u2019s nuclear program and argued Tehran moved closest to weapons-grade uranium after Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They were developing it during the nuclear deal,” Trump said. “You don\u2019t know that?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump directly blamed Obama for Iran’s nuclear progress, saying the former president’s agreement failed to stop Tehran from advancing toward a weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They got all of this uranium during Obama, you know that, don\u2019t you?” Trump said. “That\u2019s how they got there\u2026 They got there. They developed it during the Obama, Barack Hussein Obama …”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welker pushed back, saying Iran “escalated their development” after the deal was ended, before trying to move the interview to the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump interrupted to argue that his decision to strike Iran prevented a catastrophic outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“If I didn\u2019t go in there with the B-2 bombers, they would right now have a nuclear weapon, and it could be that half of the world would be eradicated,” Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in the interview, Trump defended his decision to take military action despite years of campaigning against “endless wars.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I had to stop a country \u2014 very powerful, very dangerous country \u2014 from having a nuclear weapon because they\u2019d use it,” Trump said. “They\u2019d blow up the world, they\u2019d blow up the Middle East, they\u2019d blow up Israel, they\u2019d come here, they\u2019d blow up Europe.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump claimed the mission was consistent with his “America First” foreign policy platform because he views a nuclear Iran as a direct threat to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I\u2019m doing the world a service, but I\u2019m doing our country a service,” Trump said. “It\u2019s America First. I\u2019m doing our country a service.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welker pressed Trump on whether he broke his campaign promise not to start new wars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“First of all, I didn\u2019t guarantee no war,” Trump said. “Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also rejected comparisons to Vietnam and Iraq, arguing the Iran conflict was limited and nearing its conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This is not an endless war,” Trump said. “We\u2019ve been doing this for three months. Much of it has been under the form a pretty good form of ceasefire.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“If we left tomorrow, if we just said, ‘All right, let\u2019s get out,’ it\u2019ll take them 15 or 20 years to rebuild back, but I\u2019m not going to give them even that chance\u2026 They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was reached in 2015 between Iran, the United States, other world powers and the European Union. The Obama administration said the agreement required Iran to reduce its uranium stockpile and accept limits on uranium enrichment and monitoring in exchange for phased sanctions relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018, calling it unacceptable and ordering sanctions to be reimposed. At the time, his administration said the deal failed to protect U.S. national security interests and gave Iran access to money while only delaying its nuclear ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump abruptly ended the sit-down with Welker after the host repeatedly challenged his claims about election fraud, California\u2019s vote count and his proposed “anti-weaponization” fund. He accused NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN of being “crooked” during a final exchange over his claims about U.S. elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You\u2019re a one-sided crooked network,” Trump told Welker. “Sorry. Let\u2019s call it quits because I\u2019ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n