Obama says Iran war has given Tehran "veto power" over Hormuz and pushed up fuel prices

Former US President Barack Obama sharply criticised the Trump administration's war with Iran at a Democratic campaign rally in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 24. He said the war had given Iran "veto power" over the Strait of Hormuz and pushed up oil and fuel prices.

"The reason why the price of just about everything is up"

According to the BBC and The Independent, Obama said: "Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz, where oil goes through to the world market. This is the reason why the price of oil is up. Nobody disputes that. This is the reason the price of diesel is up." He also asked: "So seven months later, how's that war going? Our allies and our bases have been attacked; Americans have been killed; hundreds of Americans have been wounded."

Referring to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), Obama said: "Iran didn't have nuclear weapons, because I put a deal in place that everybody acknowledged kept them from getting nukes. And I didn't have to fire a missile to do it; I just had to engage in diplomacy." Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, during his first term. Middle East Eye, citing AFP, reported that Obama accused Trump of "starting an unnecessary war that nobody asked for".

Trump's position and the cost of the war

The BBC reported that Trump acknowledged oil prices were "temporarily high" but said "our country is getting stronger and stronger all the time, and those pump prices are going to come down". The Independent, citing the Pentagon, reported that 21 US service members have been killed and 865 wounded in operations related to the war. Obama made the remarks while campaigning ahead of the US midterm elections on November 3.

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A Mongolian user translated and shared a clip of Obama's remarks, and it became one of the most viewed world news posts among Mongolian users this morning.