On debate stage, Walz slams Trump for backing out of Iran nuclear deal

Democrat Tim Walz questions Republican Donald Trump’s fitness for office at the outset of Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, arguing that the former president is too unstable to be trusted at a time of crisis in the Middle East.

His Republican opponent for the country’s No. 2 office, JD Vance, responds by asserting that Trump had made the world more secure during his term in office.

The ongoing crisis in the Middle East, sparked a year ago by the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught in southern Israel, is the debate’s first topic, giving the two men a chance to outline their foreign policy credentials.

Asked whether he would support a preemptive strike against Iran by Israel, Vance suggests he would defer to Israel’s judgment, while Walz did not directly answer the question.

Instead, Walz pivots to criticizing Trump for nixing the Iran nuclear deal. The 2015 deal, which then-President Trump abandoned in 2018, had capped Iran’s uranium enrichment at 3.67% purity and its stockpile of this material at 202.8 kg (447 pounds) – limits Tehran has since far exceeded.

“Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership,” he says.