President Donald Trump (R-FL) accused former President Barack Obama (D-IL) of bribing Iran to secure a nuclear agreement during a press briefing.

The allegation targets the 2015 nuclear deal, a cornerstone of previous U.S. diplomatic efforts to limit Iran's nuclear capabilities. By characterizing a legal settlement as a bribe, Trump challenges the legitimacy of the agreement and the motives of the administration that brokered it.

Speaking at the G7 summit in Borgo Egnazia, Apulia, Italy, Trump said that Obama used a $1.7 billion [1] settlement of a decades-old lawsuit as a financial incentive. He said that this payment was intended to persuade Iran to accept the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal [1].

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was present during the briefing when the comments were made [1]. The exchange occurred during the June 2024 summit, where world leaders gathered to discuss global security, and economic stability.

Trump's description of the payment as a bribe contrasts with other accounts of the transaction. While Trump frames the $1.7 billion [1] as a strategic payoff, other reports focus on the diplomatic friction caused by the U.S. withdrawal from the deal under Trump's own previous term [1].

The 2015 agreement sought to limit Iran's uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Trump has long criticized the deal, arguing that it provided Iran with too much financial freedom without ensuring permanent compliance.

“Trump alleged that Obama ‘bribed’ Iran in the 2015 nuclear agreement”

This accusation highlights the ongoing political divide over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). By framing a legal settlement as a bribe, Trump seeks to delegitimize the diplomatic framework of the Obama era, reinforcing his policy of maximum pressure on Iran and questioning the ethical foundations of the 2015 agreement.