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Iran: The Latest — News
Iran: The Latest

Iran: The Latest is The Telegraph’s defence, security and foreign affairs news podcast providing deep-dive analysis on the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran.

Veteran foreign correspondents Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey bring you the latest updates from The Telegraph’s award-winning journalists, plus exclusive interviews with world-class experts in military strategy, international relations, and Middle East policy.

From attacks on the Gulf to Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Houthis in Yemen to the threat of nuclear escalation, stay informed with the best of The Telegraph’s Middle East coverage in one place. As the geopolitical landscape shifts, subscribe for essential updates on the security shifts defining our global future.

Battle Lines, a defence podcast with a wider scope and created by David Knowles, previously lived on this feed.

Don’t forget to follow and leave a review to stay updated on the latest in global conflict and foreign affairs.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.

Latest Episodes:

Drugs, HIV and gangs: the Pacific island paradise hit by a triple epidemic Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

Drugs and gangs have created an explosion in HIV cases in Fiji.

This week on Battle Lines: Global Health Security, Arthur Scott-Geddes is joined by Sarah Newey, The Telegraph’s correspondent in Bangkok who recently travelled to Fiji, and Dr Jason Mitchell, the head of the country’s HIV task force.

On the archipelago known as the gateway to the Pacific, Chinese triads, Mexican cartels, and Australian biker gangs are all involved in a booming methamphetamine trade.

The result is that an island paradise is now home to the fastest-growing HIV epidemic on earth.

Read Sarah’s dispatch from Fiji:

The island paradise with the world’s fastest growing HIV epidemic

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/fiji-island-paradise-with-the-worlds-fastest-growing-HIV-epidemic/

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Studio Operator: Meghan Searle

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

@venetiarainey

@ascottgeddes

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The 'super secret' Chagos island airbase at heart of Trump-Starmer row Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

The British Indian Ocean Territory, AKA the Chagos Islands is home to the American super-base of Diego Garcia. Located on the largest island in the archipelago and home to the joint UK/US military base since the 1970s.

The Chagos handover to Mauritius has been controversial from the outset and shifting signals from Donald Trump have left the Starmer government open to a political backlash.

Has the special relationship turned toxic over these islands? And should the sovereignty transfer be stopped? To discuss, Roland turns to Ben Judah who has worked for the previous foreign secretary and Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, David Blair.

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump’s Iran plan: 'kick the door in' and hit the regime where it hurts Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

The drumbeat of war in the Middle East is getting louder - and once again it’s Iran in America’s crosshairs.

A second round of talks over Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons programme ended this week without a deal. In the last few days, dozens of American fighter jets and refuelling tankers have joined the US's two carrier strike groups in the region. This is now the largest American military buildup in the Middle East since the Iraq war in 2003.

Venetia chats to Henry Bodkin, The Telegraph's Jerusalem correspondent, and Roland Oliphant, chief foreign affairs analyst about when war might break out and how it could unfold.

Plus Roland speaks to Maryam Mazrooei, an Iranian journalist and war photographer who fled the country after being arrested and imprisoned in 2022, about whether American-led regime change would spark a civil war in Iran.

Read - Trump sends fighter jet squadron to ‘kick the door down’ in Iran: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/18/us-military-aircraft-heading-towards-iran/

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

@venetiarainey

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Frog poison, tear gas and Novichok: Inside Russia’s chemical weapons programme Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

Two years ago, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in a Siberian penal colony. There was an outcry and many suspected foul play, but nothing could be proved.

That is until last weekend, when five European countries including the UK announced that they had made a startling discovery: Navalny had been killed with a rare frog poison.

How was the poison was identified, how were the samples smuggled out of Russia, and why does the evidence point directly to Moscow?

Venetia and Arthur speak to former commanding officer of the UK’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment and Telegraph columnist, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, and Dr Gemma Bowsher, Senior Research Associate for the Centre for Conflict and Health Research at Kings College London.

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Studio Operator: Meghan Searle

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

@venetiarainey

@ascottgeddes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

North Korea 'names' 13-year-old nuclear heiress & inside Europe’s race to rearm Feb 16, 2026

Show notes

North Korea’s dynasty dictatorship has taken on a new leather clad, second-in-command. Reports from South Korea have suggested that Kim Jong Un’s daughter Kim Ju-ae is now the heir apparent in the totalitarian state.

Could she one day be the youngest person to command a nuclear arsenal? Roland chats to The Telegraph’s Lily Shanagher and from the University of Oxford, North Korea watcher, Dr Edward Howell, to unpack what we know from the shadows.

Plus, after the Munich Security Conference at the weekend, Europe is facing a new future without Washington’s steadying hand and will have to be less reliant on the Stars and Stripes. But is European defence manufacturing scaling up in line with these new demands? Roland speaks to Philip Lockwood from defence startup Stark to find out just how quickly the ambitions are being realised.

Read Lily's article on Kim Ju-ae: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/16/kim-opens-neighbourhood-families-soldiers-killed-ukraine/

Pic credit: KCNA via Reuters

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vance’s ‘Enemy Within’: How the US shocked Europe into rearmament Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

A year ago, JD Vance gave an explosive speech at the Munich Security Conference. It marked a fundamental shift in the relationship between the US and its European allies that have since been cemented through tariff wars, a new National Security Strategy and threats to take Greenland.

So has Europe risen to the challenge laid down by Donald Trump's administration and started to take care of its own security? Is there any trust left in the trans-Atlantic relationship? And will there be another attack on Europe at this weekend's Munich conference?

Venetia and Roland chat to David Blair, Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, and Joe Barnes, Brussels Correspondent to find out.

Read Joe Barnes's story on how Europe ‘must become military superpower’ to survive without US: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/11/europe-must-be-military-superpower-to-survive-without-us/

Read David Blair's analysis: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/d/da-de/david-blair/

Pic credit: Matthias Schrader/AP

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump’s 9 million death gamble: One year since he axed USAID Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

Nearly a year after Donald Trump shuttered USAID, the world is still reckoning with the consequences. But what really happened next?

Venetia Rainey examines the fallout and what it means for global health, security, and stability. Joined by Global Health Security Editor, Paul Nuki, she explores how the abrupt withdrawal of America’s largest aid agency sent shockwaves through the global aid system, disrupted lifesaving programmes, and potentially contributed to millions of preventable deaths.

They are joined by Angeli Achrekar, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, and Kevin Melton, a former USAID official and now CEO of PAX Strategies, offering insider perspectives on what was lost and what may be emerging in its place.

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Studio Operator: Meghan Searle

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

@venetiarainey

@ascottgeddes

Pic credit: Simon Townsley

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Project Vault: Trump's battle to break China’s critical mineral stranglehold Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

Donald Trump has moved the war for critical minerals from the margins of policy to the heart of great power rivalry. In this episode of Battle Lines, we look at Project Vault, America's bid to take back control of the critical minerals and rare earths supply chain from China.

This bid to build a vast new stockpile and industrial strategy was unveiled at the inaugural US Critical Minerals Ministerial Summit last week. Supporters see it as a necessary first step to protect American industry and national security. Critics warn that for middle countries, it may simply shift dependencies rather than break them.

Venetia talks to Sibylline Chief Analyst Sam Olsen to unpack what Project Vault really means, why processing matters more than mining, and how China has weaponised its dominance in ways OPEC never could.

Plus, a deep dive on how Greenland fits into the West's rare earths strategy. Greenland Energy, Business and Mineral Resources Minister Naaja Nathanielsen on that Trump deal, Chinese influence and the challenges of mining on the island.

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'Copy Ukraine's defence model and reduce China dependency to survive' Feb 06, 2026

Show notes

Was Peter Mandelson's appointment as UK ambassador to the US a national security risk? Should the US and UK bomb Iran to spark regime change? Will Nato survive Trump? And how should European countries deal with the threat of China?

British shadow defence secretary and former procurement minister James Cartlidge joins Roland and Venetia to discuss the biggest news stories in British and global defence at the moment, from Russia's Yantar 'spy ship' to the 'poison chalice' and beleaguered Ajax tank program.

We want to hear why you enjoy Battle Lines! Email us: battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

Read Sophia Yan's story on how China is powering Putin’s deadly new Oreshnik missiles: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/28/china-helping-russia-build-nuclear-capable-missile/

Read Roland's analysis of the Army’s £6bn Ajax disaster: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/23/inside-army-ajax-disaster/

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

@venetiarainey

@RolandOliphant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'No limits': Russia, China and US enter new nuclear arms race Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

This week, the New START treaty expires, ending the last remaining major nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia. With no binding limits on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals and China rapidly expanding its own, many fear the start of a new and dangerous era of proliferation.

On this episode of Battle Lines: Global Health Security, Arthur Scott-Geddes and Sophie O’Sullivan are joined by Darya Dolzikova of the Royal United Services Institute and Matthew Bunn of Harvard Kennedy School to unpack why Donald Trump wants to rebuild America's nuclear stockpile and whether an arms race is already underway.

As the Doomsday Clock edges closer to midnight, how worried should we be?

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Studio Operator: Meghan Searle

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

Contact us with feedback or ideas:

battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

@venetiarainey

@ascottgeddes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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