The folly of ‘unconditional surrender’: Fukuyama, ‘The End of History’ author, on why Iran won’t yield to Washington

Donald Trump’s call for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” revives a wartime slogan that assumes a state capable of capitulating. Political scientist Francis Fukuyama argues Iran’s fragmented power structure and ideological foundations make that unlikely. The demand reflects broader uncertainty about Washington’s objectives, exposing the limits of military force and the persistence of geopolitical and civilisational tensions in the post–Cold War world.