The Take: How close is the US to a quagmire in Iran?
The US has a 15-point plan to end the war on Iran, but what does the military reality show?
![President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 26, 2026 in Washington, DC. This is Trump's second Cabinet meeting of 2026 and the first since the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28. [Chip Somodevilla/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AFP__20260326__2268472618__v2__HighRes__PresidentTrumpMeetsWithHisCabinetAtTheWhiteH-1774612038.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
The US is mobilizing ground troops, while saying it has a 15-point plan to end the US-Israel war on Iran. Tehran denies negotiations and continues to control the Strait of Hormuz. So what does reality spell for the US strategy – and what would it take to end the war rather than escalate it?
In this episode:
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Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Noor Wazwaz and Chloe K. Li, with Catherine Nouhan, Marcos Bartolomé, Tuleen Barakat, Monah Hamade, Ibrahim Abdelfattah, Adhil Veettil, Sreechand Sugathan, Gerard Baladad, Shreshtha Sanghvi, Hanna Nasser, Adlan Abdalla, Mile Trifunovski, and our guest host, David Enders. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.
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