‘Has any US military action ever racked up so many costs for so few gains’: Fareed Zakaria on Iran war

Has American military action ever racked up so many costs for so few gains as it has in the Iran war, asked veteran journalist and geostrategist Fareed Zakaria. He argued that Iran was already in a very bad shape before the war, indicating that perhaps the attack on the country was not necessary at all. 

“Iran was in very bad shape militarily. In addition, its economy was a mess destroyed by the tightening of sanctions and its own corrupt regime. Hardly anyone could argue that Iran posed a threat to its neighbors, let alone to the United States, which sits roughly 6,000 miles away,” said Zakaria in CNN show GPS, pointing out that US and Israel had boasted of decimating Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025 after the 12 days bombing campaign, and Hezbollah was heavily bombed.

None of Washington’s European or Asian allies were consulted, and many have spoken out against the war, he said. Zakaria also cited reports that said Netanyahu sold the war to Trump not because of any imminent threat but because Iran’s weakness was an opportune time to bring about a regime change. 

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“Few of the desired results have been achieved. The regime has not fallen. Key leaders have changed for the worse. The 86 year old Ayatollah Khamenei, who famously banned the development of nuclear weapons, was killed and replaced by his son, who is said to be more hardline than his father,” he said.

“The Strait of Hormuz, which was free and open despite many threats through 47 years of US-Iran tensions, is now blocked by the new leadership, whom Trump terms much more reasonable. President Trump says that after a few more bombing runs, the strait will open naturally because Iran will want to export its own oil. This misreads the situation,” said Zakaria.

He said the strait is not closed, it is open to Iranian oil which is flowing freely, especially to China. “The net result of the war is that Iran now makes about twice as much on its daily oil sales, compared to before the conflict. In addition, if it continues to charge a reported $2 million per passing ship, Tehran will make hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue every month, enough to rebuild its military and more,” he added.

On the other hand, America’s Gulf allies who want a stable environment to flourish have been pushed into an unstable and tense environment. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had mended ties with Iran in 2023 because he wanted to calm geopolitical waters. Zakaria said the region has gone from “having a path to be an oasis of stability rather than a cauldron of conflict”.

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Russia is the obvious winner as it would make billions of extra dollars every month as US would waive sanctions on oil due to the rise in oil prices. Ukraine would lose the weapons that were flowing into West Asia. Europe loses face, and China gains as the US gets embroiled into another conflict. He said Beijing now appears to be the more responsible, less disruptive superpower. 

“But so far, has any American military action ever racked up so many costs for so few gains,” asked Zakaria.