Obama blames Trump for 'starting unnecessary war nobody asked for'

Former US president Barack Obama has accused Donald Trump of "starting an unnecessary war that nobody asked for".

"The current president chose to make a series of bad decisions," Obama said in Ohio, where he rallied in support of former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown.

"Most importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for," he said, according to AFP.

"After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence, the likes of which we have not seen in the modern era, you get a chance to say, 'Enough is enough,'" Obama declared in Cleveland. "We are voting for change right here in Ohio."

Iran war, he said, is “the reason why the price of just about everything is up”.

“Iran didn’t have nuclear weapons because I had 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.”

“Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz, where oil goes through to the world market,” the former president said.

“This is the reason why the price of oil is up. This is the reason why the price of diesel is up. This is the reason why the price of just about everything is up.”

Under the 2015 deal with Iran, officially called the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to restrict the enrichment of uranium and subject itself to inspections in exchange for the relaxation of sanctions. Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, during his first term.