Biden says Trump’s Iran policy making chance of war ‘more likely’

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s strategy on Iran, including abandoning an international nuclear pact, is a “self-inflicted disaster” that could push the United States towards war with a major adversary, Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden warns Today.

Hours after Iran shot down a US spy drone, sending tensions soaring, the former US vice president says Trump was failing to prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to secure energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

“President Trump’s Iran strategy is a self-inflicted disaster,” Biden, who leads in polling for his party’s 2020 nomination, says in a statement.

“By walking away from diplomacy, Trump has made military conflict more likely.”

Biden served nearly four years as chairman of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee during his 36 years in the Senate, and considers foreign policy a strong suit.

As vice president, he helped US president Barack Obama negotiate the 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers that imposed curbs on its nuclear program, blocking its path to an atomic weapon.

But Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement last year, and as a result, Biden says, “Iran is building back up its nuclear capability.”

While Trump promised that exiting the deal and slapping sanctions on Iran would brake its belligerence in the region, “they’ve only gotten more aggressive,” Biden says.

Biden stresses that Iran continues to be a “bad actor that abuses human rights” and supports terrorism. “But what we need is presidential leadership that will take strategic action to counter the Iranian threat” and improve cooperation with US allies.

— AFP