From Saigon to Tehran: The Similarities Between the Iran and Vietnam Wars

The war between the United States and Israel against Iran is increasingly seen as echoing the United States’ difficult experience in Vietnam. According to American political analyst Gideon Rose, the similarity of the two wars lies not in geography or ideology, but in the pattern of war strategy and how American leaders make decisions under pressure. In his piece in Foreign Affairs magazine, cited by Al Jazeera, on Thursday (21 May 2026), Rose—who is also a scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations and who previously worked in the administration of former President Bill Clinton—stated that the Donald Trump administration required only two months to pass through five stages that the Lyndon B. Johnson administration experienced during the Vietnam War. The five stages referred to begin with intervention, war escalation, military stalemate, and ultimately moving toward the negotiation table. According to Rose, Washington is now entering a phase reminiscent of the Nixon era, namely seeking a way out that can save face from a costly war that failed to achieve its main political objectives. Rose then recalls Johnson’s experiences in the 1960s when the United States deepened its involvement in Vietnam for fear that South Vietnam or Saigon would fall into communist hands. Even though doubts about the possibility of winning the war emerged within the administration itself, Washington still believed that increasing military pressure would force Hanoi or North Vietnam to back down. The United States began to send aid and military advisers, then intensified bombing campaigns, until eventually deploying large numbers of ground troops. Yet North Vietnam refused to surrender despite facing American military superiority. In 1968, the Vietnam War became a political and economic burden for the United States.