### America’s Imperial Trap in Iran

Written by Fareed Zakaria | Originally published by Foreign Policy Magazine [(source)](https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/13/united-states-iran-war-middle-east-imperialism-british-empire/) | March 13, 2026

## Trump’s decision to return to the Middle East echoes the strategic folly that undid Britain.

For around 15 years, many American leaders—including all three presidents in that period—believed that the country was too deeply entangled in trying to reorder the societies of the Middle East. They felt the more pressing challenges included rebuilding America’s industrial base and confronting the rise of China. Yet here America is, once again, fighting a war to reorder a society in the greater Middle East. And like in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, this war seems unlikely to turn out quite as its proponents may hope.

Why does this keep happening?

The United States Is Falling Into an Imperial Trap in Iran

**Fareed Zakaria** is the host of CNN’s _Fareed Zakaria GPS_ and the author, most recently, of _Age of Revolutions_. He writes a weekly _Washington Post_ column, which is also syndicated in _Foreign Policy_.

## U.S.-Iran Peace Deal

[**What We Do and Don’t Know About the U.S.-Iran Peace Deal**](https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/15/us-iran-peace-deal-trump-nuclear-sanctions-war-israel-lebanon-mou/?tpcc=recirc_featured_horizontal051524)

Key issues, like Iran’s nuclear program, remain unresolved.