Dealing with Iran, Obama to Trump (Bonus)

Dealing with Iran, Obama to Trump (Bonus)

From History As It Happens by Martin Di Caro

June 3, 2026 · 31 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the implications of the Iran nuclear deal and the contrasting approaches of Presidents Obama and Trump regarding Iran.

Enjoy this entire 30-minute bonus episode! To listen to future bonus content and get early access to ad-free episodes, become a subscriber today. History As It Happens Premium costs $5 per month. Why do some opponents of the abandoned JCPOA, also known as the Iran nuclear deal of 2015, continue to lie about it? Many of these critics are now the most vocal backers of President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fiasco of a war against the Islamic Republic, which has failed in all its main objectives while leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. What was actually in the JCPOA? What did it really accomplish? And why is President Trump reluctant to agree to something similar, or possibly a little better, than what President Obama came up with a decade ago? A negotiated settlement is the only way out of this war. Nuclear arms expert Joe Cirincione is our guest. Further reading: Dollars For Dust by Joe Cirincione (Strategy & History newsletter)

People in this episode

Host: Martin Di Caro

Guest: Joe Cirincione

Topics covered

  • Iran nuclear deal
  • JCPOA
  • U.S. foreign policy
  • Trump administration
  • Middle East conflict
  • nuclear arms

Keywords

  • Iran
  • nuclear deal
  • JCPOA
  • Trump
  • Obama
  • Middle East
  • foreign policy
  • Joe Cirincione

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Islamic Republic, JCPOA, History As It Happens

Places: Strait of Hormuz

More episodes of History As It Happens

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the History As It Happens podcast page.