Biden slams Trump’s Iran policy at town hall

Oct 16, 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden said at a town hall Thursday night that President Donald Trump’s policies have put Iran closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon. The two candidates continue to argue over Middle East policy as the Nov. 3 election nears.

Biden, who is the Democratic Party presidential nominee, mostly spoke about domestic issues at the event hosted by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. The US election is dominated by talk on the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy, police and race issues and other domestic concerns.

Iran is one international issue that the presidential contenders have frequently addressed. At the town hall in his home state of Pennsylvania, an attendee asked Biden if Trump deserves some credit for his foreign policy, including US efforts on Arab-Israeli normalization deals.

“You have Iran closer to having enough nuclear material to build a bomb,” said Biden in response.

Biden was likely referring to the Iran nuclear deal the United States entered into in 2015 under President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served. The agreement removed sanctions on Iran in exchange for compliance on its nuclear program. Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, saying Iran continues to seek a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies.