Iran: The Latest

The Iran-backed Houthis have seized the strategic Red Sea port city of al-Mokha - apparently at the direction of the IRGC - as fighting in Yemen and Saudi Arabia escalates.   On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Sophia Yan speaks to Jerusalem correspondent Henry Bodkin about the pressure the war is putting on the Bab al-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz as oil prices pass the $100/barrel th...

Iran claims to capture an advanced US Navy submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz. How significant is it? On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Roland Oliphant talks to Nikolay Kozhanov, former attaché at the Russian embassy in Tehran and now at the Gulf Studies Center of Qatar University, about the escalating US-Iran missile attacks and how Moscow is helping Tehran. He explains that Iran will...

Iran claims to have targeted US warships with a new ballistic missile for the first time in the war and has warned that its new military doctrine involves pre-emptive strikes.   On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to journalist and author David Patrikarakos about the signal the IRGC is sending Donald Trump by revealing the use of its upgraded Qassem Basir missil...

The US Navy struck three Iranian vessels, sinking one and disabling two, after fresh attacks by Tehran on American warships near the Strait of Hormuz. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey discuss news of the escalating battle for the Strait of Hormuz, which has become the epicentre of the US-Iran war. Donald Trump’s administration insists millions of barrels o...

Donald Trump’s approval rating has plummeted to a record low as the military and economic toll of the US-Iran war collides with the upcoming 2026 midterm elections - and the pressure is on.  On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Venetia Rainey speaks to US correspondents Ben Smith and Poppy Wood to examine how the conflict in the Middle East is threatening Trump’s control of Congress and d...

US Vice President JD Vance has said there will be an investigation into a deadly strike on a wedding in southern Iran after an American precision-guided glide bomb appears increasingly likely to have been the culprit. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to former naval officer Bryan Clark about how accurate the bombs are and what might have gone wrong. They also discuss t...

What’s it like to be taken hostage by the Iranian regime and imprisoned for months on end in Evin, Tehran’s most notorious prison, amid an unprecedented war with the US and Israel? On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Roland Oliphant speaks to Joe Bennett, son of Lindsay Foreman, who has been detained since January 2025 with her husband Craig Foreman while on a round-the-world motorcycle tour....

Donald Trump has ordered the deadliest attacks against Iranian targets since July, striking IRGC air defense systems, radars, telecommunications - and reportedly a wedding party.  On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant look at the fresh round of deadly escalating violence, including Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone barrage targeting US positions in Jord...

For the first time in over a month, fighting has erupted in the Strait of Hormuz after US forces struck Iranian sea mine-equipped rocket launchers on Larak Island. Iran retaliated by targeting US bases in Jordan, prompting Donald Trump to vow to hit Iran “hard”.   On today's episode of Iran: The Latest, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant unpack the details of the violence and why Trump h...

"Israel is in a situation of kind of spectacular military virtuosity, but also strategic impoverishment. You cannot kill everybody."  On today’s bank holiday bonus episode of Iran: the Latest , Venetia Rainey speaks to historian Simon Sebag-Montefiore to get a historian’s view of the US-Israel-Iran war. Simon argues that Donald Trump’s biggest mistake was not stopping after 2025’s Operation M...

Six months into the Iran conflict, the war has devolved into an economic ‘quagmire’ as the US shifts strategy from kinetic strikes to prolonged blockade tactics under "Operation Economic Outcast".  On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Henry Bodkin speaks with Chief Washington Correspondent Connor Stringer to discuss why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could be in the firing line for a post-...

On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Sophia Yan is joined by Middle East scholar Vali Nasr to assess the state of the conflict as it hits the six-month mark. They discuss why Washington’s security umbrella in the Gulf is collapsing, how US naval exhaustion is forcing warships to retreat to Asia, and why China stands to emerge as the ultimate winner of the war. Plus, why Israel and Turkey could...

As the US-Iran war approaches the six-month mark, CIA Director John Ratcliffe makes a secret eight-hour flight to Moscow to meet with Russian officials.  On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Roland Oliphant and senior foreign correspondent Adrian Blomfield analyze whether Donald Trump offering Vladimir Putin a trade-off on Ukraine to sever Moscow’s backing of Tehran, or issuing a direct in...

Iran shut down a British power plant for four days in an unprecedented cyber attack, in what can be described as the most serious incident of its kind.  On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Roland Oliphant is joined in the studio by Telegraph National Security Editor Rozina Sabur to unpack her major exclusive on the Iranian cyber attack that disabled a British power plant. They discuss why...

With the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent set to announce the ‘greatest financial offensive ever’ against Iran, Roland sits down with the Telegraph’s chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair to discuss where the Iranian regime goes next and who might blink first. Meanwhile the Trump administration’s blockade of Iranian ports has seen oil exports dwindle to near zero, with David adding that...

As the Strait of Hormuz closure pushes US petrol prices past $4 a gallon and Donald Trump’s approval ratings hit rock bottom, the Republicans are increasingly worried the Iran war could create a “bloodbath” in the midterms.  In this bonus episode of Iran: The Latest , Venetia Rainey is joined by chief Washington correspondent Connor Stringer to look at five ways the Middle East conflict is ac...

‘If there were a university delivering degrees in strategic malpractice, Donald Trump would without a doubt graduate summa cum laude.’ On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Roland Oliphant gets a damning assessment of the US-Iran war from one of America’s most seasoned Middle East diplomats, Aaron David Miller. A former State Department analyst and negotiator across six Republican and Democrati...

Donald Trump has vowed an ‘economic D-Day’ to crush Iran, amid news that the US military is stealthily getting oil out of the Strait of Hormuz despite Tehran’s attacks. Will US jets escorting tankers stop oil prices from rising further? In today’s episode of Iran: The Latest , Roland Oliphant talks to Matthew Savill, director of Military Sciences at the UK’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI),...

The UAE has dealt Iran a major blow by cutting off trade ties after accusing Tehran of firing two ballistic missiles towards the Gulf state. The missiles eventually landed outside territorial waters, but Abu Dhabi’s swift response could close down Iran’s key economic escape route. On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest , Sophia Yan unpacks the latest news from the Middle East war with Mahsa Alimar...

Iran has attacked another vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, just a day after Donald Trump threatened to bomb US ally Oman if it “gets in the way” of comatose US negotiations with Tehran. On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest , Venetia Rainey is joined by chief Washington correspondent Connor Stringer to discuss Trump’s escalating frustration over the lack of a Strait of Hormuz deal and why he is ho...

As the US-Iran ceasefire officially expires and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, is Donald Trump considering using nuclear weapons to break the war stalemate?  On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant discuss why US politician Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bizarre nuclear claim may be less crazy than it first appears and how an underground nuclear facility at...

The US-Israel-Iran war has led to black rain and oil spills in the Strait of Hormuz - is the country facing an environmental crisis because of Donald Trump? In this weekend bonus edition of Iran: The Latest, Roland Oliphant speaks with Kaveh Madani, the award-winning director of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health and also an exiled Iranian politician. They examine the li...

The US has deployed a fresh aircraft carrier to the Middle East, vowing an "indefinite" naval blockade of Iran until the Strait of Hormuz is reopened - but China has other ideas.  On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest , Sophia Yan speaks with Alicia Kearns MP, shadow minister for national security and former chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Fresh from a trip into the heart of t...

As Donald Trump’s Iran war drags on and hostilities continue in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, global energy markets are being reshaped - not by OPEC or the US, but by China.  On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey talks to world economy editor Ambrose Evans-Pritchard about how Beijing has weaponised its internal oil demand to keep oil prices stable and bypass Saudi Arabia,...

The Iran-backed Houthis have carried out their first deadly strikes of the war, killing six mariners in a double-tap ballistic missile attack on a cargo vessel in the Red Sea. Meanwhile, near the Strait of Hormuz, US Navy helicopters have fired Hellfire missiles to disable a ship breaking Donald Trump’s blockade. On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest , Venetia Rainey is joined by veteran British...