Obama says Trump's Iran decision 'misguided'

WASHINGTON: Former US president Barack Obama made a rare public criticism of his successor Tuesday, describing Donald Trump's decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal as "misguided" and a "serious mistake."

"The reality is clear. The JCPOA is working," Obama said in a statement, referring to the deal his administration brokered in 2015. "That is a view shared by our European allies, independent experts, and the current US secretary of defense."

"That is why today's announcement is so misguided," he added. "I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake."