Former Vice President Biden delivered a speech on foreign policy Tuesday in New York where he defended the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran and blamed President Trump for inflaming tensions in the Middle East.



"No president can take the nation to war without the consent of the American people," Biden said about the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. "Whether or not this ends up in war remains to be seen, but it’s becoming frighteningly close to getting this engaged in a war in the region."



"When the Iran deal was in force, we didn't have this dangerous cycle of tit for tat escalation and response," Biden said. "There was a united front of allies and partners to address Iran's other destabilizing actions throughout the region."



"The Iran deal was not only accomplishing a critical mission that it was designed for, it also created an environment in which diplomacy was possible. But Trump—he walked away. Not Iran. Trump walked away," he explained. "Trump made the United States the international outlier and reimposed significant sanctions designed to exert 'maximum pressure' on the regime, with claims it would deter Iranian aggression and bring Iran back to the negotiating table and secure a much-promised 'better deal.' On both fronts, as many anticipated at the time, Trump's promises were empty, baseless, and naive."



"Since then, all that has materialized is a predictable cycle of escalating conflict with Iran."