Iran: The Latest

Latest Episodes:

The UK just proved it hasn’t learned Iran and Ukraine war lessons Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

As the US and Iran meet in Qatar, the UK has unveiled £15 billion in defence spending - but is it all a giant “fudge” to avoid humiliation by Donald Trump at next week’s Nato summit?

Announcing the Defence Investment Plan, Prime Minister Keir Starmer boasted it meant the UK is spending 4.2% of GDP on wider security. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey talks to Ukraine: the Latest host and defence associate editor Dom Nicholls about why the numbers don’t add up.

Plus, they unpack the UK’s high-stakes gamble on exquisite uncrewed autonomous aircraft and vessels and why the UK is ignoring the vital lesson from wars in Ukraine and Iran: expensive tech cannot replace raw mass.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey

Dom Nicholls, Ukraine: the Latest host and defence associate editor @DomNicholls

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Gulf plans to cut the US out of Iran deal

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/30/gulf-states-plan-to-cut-the-us-out-of-iran-deal/

Iran says frozen $6bn will soon be returned as part of peace deal

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/29/iran-frozen-assets-us-sanctions-peace-deal/

Producer: Max Bower and Rachel Porter

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & 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

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

Highlights

Starmer ‘fudges’ defence spending to avoid Trump clash at Nato. Will it work?
The plan that proves the UK hasn’t learned the mass drone lesson from Iran and Ukraine

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US hammers Iran after Strait of Hormuz shipping attacks Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

Tit-for-tat violence between Iran and the US erupted over the weekend as missiles and drones flew in both directions across the Strait of Hormuz. On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, we break down a dangerous weekend of military escalation that has left the fragile 60-day interim peace agreement hanging by a thread.

Host Venetia Rainey is joined by Bahraini political analyst Ahmed Khuzaie to dissect Iran’s widening campaign of violence and give the Gulf view on who should be allowed to control the vital Hormuz waterway. He explains why there is no trust in Tehran sticking to its side of any deal and how some Gulf states would like to see Donald Trump return to war - but a more decisive and better planned one.

Plus, Israel and Lebanon have signed a peace deal too. But as fighting continues with Iranian proxy Hezbollah, is it even worth the paper it’s written on?

Highlights

US hammers Iran after Strait of Hormuz shipping attacks
Why some Gulf states would like to see Donald Trump return to war

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey

Ahmed Khuzaie, Bahraini analyst @AhmedAlkhuzaie

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Trump’s flimsy Iran deal comes back to haunt him

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/29/trumps-flimsy-iran-deal-comes-back-haunt-him/

Iran and US agree to halt attacks

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/28/iran-missile-strikes-new-hormuz-demand-bahrain-kuwait-trump/

Israel agrees to partial Lebanon withdrawal

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/26/israel-agrees-to-partial-lebanon-withdrawal/

Producer: Max Bower

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & 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

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

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Iran strikes ship in Strait of Hormuz & is Trump's Iran deal better or worse than Obama's? Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

Iran’s direct strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz has shattered US hopes of bypassing the IRGC with a covert new route. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey exposes how this tactical escalation threatens to derail the fragile 60-day peace roadmap.

Plus, is Trump’s Iran deal better or worse than Obama’s? Former US lead negotiator Robert Malley joins the podcast to deliver his blunt assessment, including why it’s not as financially generous as some claim, how close Iran now is to going nuclear, and what to do with all that enriched uranium.

Highlights

Iran strikes ship in Strait of Hormuz
Trump vs. Obama: Who got the better Iran deal?

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey

Robert Malley, former JCPOA US negotiator and program director International Crisis Group @Rob_Malley

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Iran attacks cargo ship in Strait of Hormuz

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/25/iran-attacks-cargo-ship-strait-of-hormuz/

Israel suspected of cyber attack on Iranian banks

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/23/israel-behind-cyber-attack-on-iranian-banks/

The US-Iran war may have ended, but 6,000 miles away the death toll is rising

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/madagascar-fuel-food-shortages-iran-war-death-toll/

Producer: Max Bower and Lucy Dichmont

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & 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

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

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

Iran war leaves US facing 'alarming' weapons shortage Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

President Donald Trump needs more than $65bn in urgent funding for the Pentagon as a result of the Iran war, a stark reminder of the cost to America’s military. Amid a munitions crunch, the defense industrial base is being told to go faster - and the US’ adversaries are taking note.

In today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Venetia Rainey sits down with Dana Stroul, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East and now director of research at the Washington Institute.

She delivers a blunt assessment of the conflict's fallout, why lopsided sanctions relief has handed Tehran an economic windfall, and how the war has severely strained America’s Gulf alliances. Plus, they discuss new reports that an advanced Iranian "jellyfish" drone formation successfully brought down a US F-15 fighter jet back in April.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey

Dana Stroul, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Middle East and research director Washington Institute @dstroul

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Iran was using ‘jellyfish’ swarm of drones, reports downed F-15 pilot

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/06/23/f-15-pilot-shot-down-over-iran-saw-jellyfish-swarm-of-drone/

Dana Stroul: How the Iran War Will Transform America’s Military Role

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/middle-east-power-paradox-dana-stroul

Producer: Max Bower and Rachel Porter

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & 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

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

Highlights

US facing weapons shortage - can Trump fix it?
Did Iran down a US fighter jet with a secret new drone weapon?

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Trump’s radical plan for Syria to attack Hezbollah: ‘No one is on board’ Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

The war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah remains a major sticking point in US-Iran peace talks - but Donald Trump has a controversial solution.

At the G7 summit, he said he wants Syria to militarily intervene in their neighbour and disarm the Iranian proxy by force. Sophia Yan is joined by Ahmad Sharawi, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies to discuss why Damascus has flatly rejected the plan. From the dark history of Syria’s occupation of Lebanon to the potential for a proxy war between Turkey and Israel, he outlines how such a move could seriously backfire.

Plus, the latest news from the region including the row over Iran letting in nuclear inspectors from the IAEA and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's high-stakes warnings on the Strait of Hormuz.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Sophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent @sophia_yan

Ahmad Sharawi, senior research analyst FDD @AhmadA_Sharawi

Producer: Max Bower and Rachel Porter

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & 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

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

Highlights

‘Creative but wrong’: Trump’s plan for Syria to attack Hezbollah
Plus, a row over Iran letting in nuclear inspectors from the IAEA

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Iran’s stealth Strait of Hormuz toll plan & how Trump’s war reshaped the world Jun 23, 2026

Show notes

Iran has unveiled a plan to impose stealth fees on the Strait of Hormuz, using an insurance loophole to keep exacting tolls out of the key waterway post-war.

Telegraph senior foreign correspondent Adrian Blomfield joins Roland Oliphant to break down how the conflict has permanently disrupted the global balance of power, from disrupting the US pivot to Asia to breaking US-Israeli ties.

Plus, they take a moment to consider how the past four months will reverberate in the years to come and ask: what would Herodotus, the first historian of a Persian war, make of it all?

Highlights

Iran’s secret plan to keep control of the Strait of Hormuz
How Trump’s greatest foreign policy failure reshaped the world

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant

Adrian Blomfield, senior foreign correspondent @adrianblomfield

CONTENT REFERENCED:

How Trump’s greatest foreign policy failure has reshaped the world

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/22/trumps-greatest-foreign-policy-failure-reshaped-world/

Has the US-Israel relationship changed forever?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/20/has-the-us-israel-relationship-changed-forever/

Producers: Max Bower and Elliot Lampitt

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & 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

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

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

US lifts Iran oil sanctions & how Trump lost his final European allies Jun 22, 2026

Show notes

As Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi lock down a 60-day roadmap to end the war, Tehran has walked away with immediate waivers on its oil and petrochemical exports. Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant go behind the scenes at the high-stakes negotiations in Switzerland, including nuclear negotiations and the rumors of an Iranian walkout.

Meanwhile, the fallout from Washington’s fury with his closest European allies over their Iran war “betrayal” has ramped up after Donald Trump publicly rebuked Italy’s Giorgia Meloni over her refusal to help him. They also analyse the resignation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and how his indecision over allowing the US to use UK bases to strike Iran was indicative of his premiership’s failings.

Plus, how the Iranian football team’s gritty 0-0 World Cup draw against Belgium turned into a propaganda stunt for the regime to invoke the ghosts of the schoolchildren killed in Minab at the start of the war.

Highlights

US and Iran set up Hormuz crisis hotline as oil sanctions lifted
How Trump lost his final European allies, from Meloni to Starmer

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Iranian leader criticises his negotiators in secret letters

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/22/iran-us-war-mojtaba-khamenei-mahmoud-nabavian-middle-east/

Inside the Hezbollah tunnels where peace will be made or broken

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/21/inside-hezbollah-tunnels-where-peace-will-be-made/

Trump tears into Meloni over G7 picture row

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/20/donald-trump-berates-giorgia-meloni-g7-picture-row/

Producer: Max Bower

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & 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

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

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

‘Wake up’: US forces Israel into Hezbollah ceasefire after stark warning Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

Is Donald Trump’s US-Iran peace deal already falling apart?

Less than a day after the historic MoU was signed to end the war, fighting has been ongoing in Lebanon, with Hezbollah killing four Israeli soldiers and Benjamin Netanyahu unleashing a punishing wave of air strikes across southern Lebanon. A new ceasefire has today been agreed - but can it hold?

Sophia Yan and Venetia Rainey discuss the latest news and the significance of US Vice President JD Vance’s stark warning to Israel to “wake up and smell reality”.

Plus, New York Times journalist Yeganeh Torbati, co-author of Stolen Revolution, joins to discuss why Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is distancing himself from Trump's deal, and how the IRGC is using this diplomatic breathing room to prepare for a potential resumption of the war down the line.

Highlights

US forces Israel into Hezbollah ceasefire after stark warning
Is Donald Trump’s US-Iran peace deal already falling apart?

CONTRIBUTORS:

Sophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent, @sophia_yan

Yeganeh Torbati, NYT journalist and co-author Stolen Revolution @yjtorbati

Producer: Max Bower

Executive Producers: Louisa Wells & Venetia Rainey

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Vance tells Israel: You can’t kill your way out of problems

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/06/18/jd-vance-israel-friends/

Stolen Revolution: Betrayal & Hope in Modern Iran

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/457807/stolen-revolution-by-torbati-bozorgmehr-sharafedin-and-yeganeh/9780241744017

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4-2 to Iran: Trump’s peace deal proves the US lost the war Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

Donald Trump has signed a peace deal with Iran, but his critics are saying it’s a humiliation.

Roland Oliphant and David Blair go through the US-Iran deal line by line and give each side a score, from $300bn in payments to Iran to the reopening Strait of Hormuz to a ban on nuclear weapons. Among those critical of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is former vice president Mike Pence, who has called Trump an appeaser and accused him of handing a “lifeline” to the Iranian regime - is he right?

Highlights

4-2 to Tehran - the US-Iran peace deal gutted
How the MoU proves the US lost the war

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant

David Blair, chief foreign affairs commentator @davidblairdt

CONTENT REFERENCED:

How Trump’s ‘Operation Epic Disaster’ turned the world against America

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/06/18/iran-war-trump-us-credibility/

David Blair: Trump’s extraordinary deal is a survival plan for Iran

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/17/iran-deal-survival-plan-for-islamic-republic/

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & 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

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

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

Why Trump is throwing Israel under the bus over the Iran war Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

As details of the US-Iran 14-point peace deal leaks, Trump and other world leaders at the G7 summit today are singing its praises - but is it any good?

Venetia Rainey breaks down the proposed timeline in the Memorandum of Understanding that will see the war officially end, the Strait of Hormuz open up, sanctions on Iran lifted and something unspecified happen to Tehran’s enriched uranium.

One country is particularly unhappy: Israel. So how will Benjamin Netanyahu respond? Global health security editor Paul Nuki joins from Tel Aviv to deliver a blunt realpolitik assessment on why Trump is trying to make Israel the lightning rod for the fallout from his unpopular war.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-Host and Executive Producer @venetiarainey

Paul Nuki, Global Health Security Editor @PaulNuki

CONTENT REFERENCED:

The 14-point Iran deal in full – and how it favours Tehran

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/17/the-14-point-iran-deal-in-full-how-it-favours-tehran/

War of broken promises leaves Israel weakened and despondent

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/16/broken-promises-israel-weakened-iran-trump/

IDF soldier ‘just wanted to kill’ my son

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/14/idf-soldier-just-wanted-to-kill-my-son/

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & 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

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

HIGHLIGHTS

Why Trump is throwing Israel under the bus over Iran war
‘Iran had its foot on the world’s throat. This deal is a way out’

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

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