CNN’s Fareed Zakaria calls Iran’s Gulf strikes a ‘foolish mistake’
3 min readMar 1, 2026 12:18 PM IST
The US-Israel military action and Iran’s counterstrikes intensified sharply on the second day of hostilities, with reports confirming that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has been killed. In response, Iran has escalated its strikes and announced 40 days of public mourning and seven days of nationwide holidays.
The scale of the escalation over the past 24 hours is being described as unprecedented and largely unforeseen. While US–Israel strikes have reportedly killed and wounded hundreds of civilians in Iran, Tehran’s retaliatory attacks have spread across at least six neighbouring countries, including strikes targeting Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar.
Indian-American journalist and CNN analyst Fareed Zakaria said Iran has historically mishandled its negotiations and regional strategy, calling its attack on Gulf nations a foolish mistake.
“I’m surprised at how clumsy they are,” Zakaria said. “They should never have attacked the Gulf states, particularly when those countries had made clear they did not want any part of this military operation. Their military bases couldn’t be used, their airspace couldn’t be used. They had privately counselled President Trump not to carry out this attack.”
Zakaria argued that Tehran’s strategic misstep was failing to drive a wedge between Washington and Gulf capitals. Instead, he said, Iran’s strikes have pushed Gulf countries closer together.
He noted that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have issued strong condemnations, calling the attacks outrageous, a reaction that, in his view, underscores how Iran has misplayed the situation.
Trump warns Iran
US President Donald Trump issued a sharp warning to Iran in a recent post on Truth Social, saying Tehran had threatened a major escalation.
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“Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before,” Trump wrote. “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
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