(NEW YORK) — Former President Barack Obama is sharing his thoughts on President Donald Trump’s handling of Iran, saying recently that he is skeptical that real progress will be made.

Obama spoke with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts on Saturday, one day prior to Trump’s announcement that the United States and Iran had reached a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the U.S. naval blockade.

The exact points of the deal remain unclear. A senior administration official told reporters Friday that it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lead to “the dismantling” of Iran’s nuclear program and the U.S. getting Iran’s highly enriched

The expected deal comes eight years after Trump withdrew the U.S. from a previous nuclear agreement with Iran – led by the Obama administration in 2015 – that Trump described at the time of withdrawal as the “worst deal ever.”

In the interview Saturday, ahead of the new deal being announced, Obama told Roberts that he was “doubtful” any deal with Iran put forward by the Trump administration would be “significantly different” from the 2015 deal that his administration put in place.

“It is doubtful that any agreement that arises is going to be significantly different or a significant improvement from the deal that we had in the first place and had worked for, for a long stretch of time before we, the United States, pulled out of it,” Obama told Roberts in the interview, which took place at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

Obama also expressed hope that the fighting in the region would come to an end and urged policymakers to prioritize diplomacy over military action.

“I’m hopeful that bombing stops and ordinary people are no longer suffering as a consequence of the war,” he continued. “Then in retrospect it’s a reminder that on a lot of difficult foreign policy problems — the notion that we can just bully our way or bomb our way to solutions — may sometimes seem appealing, but the fact of the matter is that taking the time to explore diplomacy and exhaust the possibilities of coming up with deals that don’t solve 100% of the problem but solve 80%, 90% of the problem while avoiding the necessity of going to war.”

“You’d think we would’ve learned that lesson by now,” he continued. “But it seems like every so often we have to relearn that lesson again.”

Trump first announced “major combat operations” against Iran on Feb. 28, with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.

After an initial ceasefire and unsuccessful U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April, negotiations continued as the ceasefire was extended.

Following Trump’s June 14 announcement on social media that a new deal had been reached, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the deal had been finalized and said it would be signed in Switzerland on Friday.

“All of our positions and important issues are included in the draft understanding,” Gharibabadi said in a statement to Iranian state media.

Tune into “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, June 17, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on ABC for more of Robin Roberts’ interview with former President Barack Obama.

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(WASHINGTON) — Immediately after celebrating his 80th birthday with Sunday’s UFC fight on the White House South Lawn, President Donald Trump is expected to head to France to meet with top global superpowers at the annual G7 summit.

Held in Évian-les-Bains, France from June 15 to 17, this will be the president’s fifth time attending the conference in person and comes amid heightened global turmoil, with the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine expected to loom large over the summit’s economic and geopolitical agenda.

This is the first time the G7 leaders are meeting in-person since the start of the U.S.-Iran war, which has now reached its 15th week and continues to impact the global economy, with increases in fossil fuel and oil and gas prices. The war had caught U.S. allies off guard and some were unwilling to heed the president’s requests for help, which has created tensions between Trump and some G7 leaders.

There is expected to be a focus on the Middle East, with Trump scheduled to participate in bilateral meetings with Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to a senior administration official.

While the past week saw significant military escalation between the U.S. and Iran, Trump said Sunday that the two countries had reached an agreement that would open the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the global oil supply passes through.

During the G7 summit last year, Trump left one day early because of the growing conflict between Israel and Iran, and that weekend launched Operation Midnight Hammer against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Like last year, leaders are also looking to secure lasting peace in Ukraine. It has been 4 1/2 years since Russia invaded Ukraine, but the war is escalating, especially with Ukraine’s expansion of long-range drone attacks against Russia. Trump repeatedly promised that he personally could end the Russia-Ukraine war on the first day of his presidency and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to seek more assistance from allies.

Zelenskyy will meet with G7 leaders on Tuesday, according to a senior administration official, but there is no one-on-one meeting currently scheduled with Trump. Ukraine was also not listed as one of the U.S. goals for the summit, though the administration emphasizes that resolving the conflict remains one of the president’s “top priorities.”

The other six countries that comprise the G7 coalition include France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom, but leaders of other countries are often also invited to the annual conference, with Zelenskyy reportedly expected to be in attendance.

During a background call previewing the trip, a senior White House administration official said Trump’s goals include addressing “economic growth and development, supply chain resilience, illegal immigration and artificial intelligence,” in addition to boosting investment partnerships.

Upon assuming his second term, Trump has strained his relationship with the other G7 leaders. In addition to prompting other countries to question his actions in Iran, the president has distanced the U.S. from top allies over his rhetoric towards NATO, his tariffs and his ambitions in acquiring Greenland, to name a few issues.

The conference was originally scheduled to begin on Sunday. Officials did not comment on whether the president’s birthday plans for that day played a role in shifting the G7 schedule forward.  

On the final day of the summit on Wednesday, Trump is expected to travel to Paris to have dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles before heading back to Washington.

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