'Epic folly': As the US and Iran both declare victory, 'none of the problems were resolved'

Summary

Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Ali Vaez, Director of the Iran project and Senior Advisor at the International Crisis Group. He argues that the war failed to achieve its principal strategic objectives while imposing enormous costs on all parties involved. Contrary to narratives portraying the outcome as a decisive victory for either side, Vaez frames the conflict as a classic "lose-lose" dynamic: Iran survived but emerged economically devastated; the United States and Israel degraded some Iranian capabilities but failed to secure regime change, eliminate Iran's strategic influence, or produce a substantially improved nuclear agreement.