Iran: The Latest

Donald Trump has threatened to restart the war with Iran with “another little Operation Epic Fury”, even as US intelligence exposes advanced Iranian plots targeting American personnel across the Middle East. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant look at why the US and Israel are delaying strikes until after the midterm and parliamentary elections. Sascha Bruchm...

The US is preparing for a protracted war with Iran as Donald Trump’s UN ambassador, Mike Waltz, warns the US Navy can maintain its maritime blockade on Iranian ports indefinitely. With Iranian seaborne oil exports falling toward zero, Washington is tightening its economic pressure campaign to force concessions on Tehran’s nuclear program. On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, host Roland Oliphan...

Further details have emerged regarding US-Israeli plans for a joint military campaign against Iran after the midterm elections. Following sightings of Israeli Air Force jets flying up to the Iranian border on Monday, plans for a three-day military blitz on Iran’s nuclear facilities and energy infrastructure were revealed to the New York Times. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Roland Oliphan...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed his military to plan a multi-day bombing campaign targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and power grids, as talks with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signal preparation for joint military action against Iran. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Roland Oliphant speaks with global health security editor Paul Nuki about Netanyahu’s vow to dis...

British RAF Typhoon fighter jets will be deployed to defend cities and critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, following the Yemen-based militant group’s deadliest attack yet, a devastating assault that killed at least 70 people, all new recruits aged 18 to 20, at a training camp. On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Sophia Yan is joined by former UK Ambassador to Yemen Edmund Fitton-Brown to...

Houthi ballistic missile strikes kill 20 people in Yemen as Egypt considers sending military support to help Saudi Arabia counter Iranian threats in the Red Sea. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Sophia Yan speaks to the Telegraph’s Executive Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor Con Coughlin and Chatham House Middle East expert Dr. Lina Khatib. They analyze Iran’s turn to asymmetric proxy warf...

The Iran war has stretched the US Congress to breaking point and exposed Pete Hegseth’s leadership of the Pentagon as fundamentally lacking, according to an ex-tank commander who is neither a Republican nor a Democrat. On today’s bonus episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to Todd Achilles, a US veteran of the First Gulf War who is running as an independent for Senate in Idaho. With t...

A new report exposes how pinpoint strikes by Iran and its proxies hit at least 84 Gulf infrastructure targets a total of 135 times, systematically disabling key infrastructure throughout the war. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Sophia Yan speaks to national security editor Rozina Sabur and Iranian terrorism specialist Roger Macmillan about the widening scope of Tehran's hybrid warfare...

Iran has sunk two cargo vessels in under 24 hours in the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the war began in March. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Venetia Rainey speaks to chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair about why Tehran is expanding its pace of attacks. So far the US has avoided a military response but how long can that last? Meanwhile, news that US President Donald...

The Houthi offensive in Yemen is reaching a critical tipping point as the Iran-backed militants encircle the strategic city of Taiz, threatening to tip the war in their favour. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Roland Oliphant speaks with Lieutenant General Graeme Lamb, former director of UK Special Forces and commander of the British Field Army, about the battle for Taiz and whether the We...

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Iran war is throttling global fertiliser supply chains, driving up transport costs, and sparking a looming food price crisis. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Roland Oliphant talks to Joseph Glauber from the International Food Policy Research Institute about the nuts and bolts of how the Iran war is impacting food security - and why the wor...

A brutal wave of Houthi missiles have struck Saudi Arabia’s main Riyadh airport, killing at least 14 in the deadliest attack on a Gulf nation since the US-Iran war began. On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest , Venetia Rainey is joined by Riyadh-based Saudi analyst Salman Al-Ansari to examine the catastrophic attacks on King Khalid International Airport and why Iran’s Houthis are able to cause so...

US military veterans are turning on Donald Trump and the Republican party as the Iran war drives fuel prices past $6 a gallon ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections. In today’s bonus episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey is joined by US reporters Poppy Wood and Ben Smith, who have been speaking to ex-military voters and candidates at the Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia and key midterm r...

Houthi ballistic missiles have struck Riyadh international airport for the third time in a week, killing three Saudis including a pilot, destroying a plane and prompting major carriers to cancel flights. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to Africa correspondent Ben Farmer to discuss why Saudi airports are particularly “painful” targets for the Iran-backed Houthis to be...

Donald Trump is reportedly readying to restart major combat operations against Iran and alongside former war-partner Israel - before the US midterm elections. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd’s List, about how such an escalation would impact the dangerous and costly shuttle service that has emerged in the Strait of Hormuz to s...

Three years on from the October 7 attacks by Hamas, how has Israel been changed by the massacre and ensuing wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran and beyond? On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Sophia Yan catches up once again with Israeli best friends Adam Ben-Shabbat and Nadim Tali from the Oasis of Peace, a Jewish and Palestinian Israeli village. They discuss the impact of the Iran war, rising racism...

The US Navy is facing increasingly long deployments as depleted interceptor stockpiles as aircraft carriers struggle to cope with Donald Trump’s eight-month Iran war and other commitments. Is America overstretched at sea? On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Roland Oliphant is joined by RUSI naval warfare experts Dr. Sidharth Kaushal and Professor Kevin Rowlands to discuss the chronic problems...

US heavy bombers have quit the RAF Fairford base amid new details about a suspected Iran terror plot. Is the UK still safe for US assets? On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest news live, Sophia Yan, Roland Oliphant, and Venetia Rainey discuss the hurried withdrawal of American B1, B2s and B52s and why it doesn’t mean a return to all-out war is off the cards for Donald Trump. Meanwhile in Yemen, S...

Republicans are revolting over soaring prices from the Iran war and there is turmoil inside the Pentagon. The polls predict Donald Trump could lose the House and the Senate in the 2026 US midterms - are they right? On today’s bonus episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks with Politico’s senior defence correspondent Connor O'Brien and defence reporter Leo Shane III about why the econ...

The US is sending a third aircraft carrier to Iran even as Donald Trump admits to ammunition shortages as a result of the war. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Sophia Yan speaks with Renad Mansour, deputy director of the MENA Programme and director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House, about what this signals about a return to all-out fighting. Renad explains why this is becoming a long-...

From the UK to Israel, the signs of Iran’s malicious influence across the West are growing. Will the attempted hijack of an Israel-bound flight from Dubai be added to that list? On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks with Jerusalem correspondent Henry Bodkin and Israel-based OSINT specialist Tal Hagin about how the flydubai pilot and passengers fought back to prevent a catas...

A flight to Israel from the UAE has been diverted and made an emergency landing after the pilot was violently attacked in a suspected hijack attempt. On today’s Iran: the Latest, Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey bring you the latest news from this dramatic story after a suspected knife attack by the co-pilot. They look at why Israeli authorities are treating it as a terror incident, reports that...

Donald Trump is digging in on the blockade of Iranian ports, making it clear to negotiators that the US will not budge without major concessions on Iran’s nuclear program. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Roland Oliphant speaks to Michael Knights, a military historian and security consultant who has spent time in Yemen and the wider region, about news of talks to end the war and the rationa...

Police in the UK are investigating alleged Iranian links to a suspected bomb plot to attack RAF Fairford, the main base for US bombers during the Iran war. Donald Trump says the suspects intended “big damage”. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey talks to crime correspondent Will Bolton about the latest news of the massive security breach, including how a local farmer foiled the...

As Chinese leader Xi Jinping concludes his three-day state visit to Washington, Beijing’s incremental support of Tehran threatens to undermine Donald Trump’s pressure campaign. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, host Sophia Yan speaks with China military expert Meia Nouwens to break down Beijing’s strategic calculus in the Middle East, how China benefits from the US getting bogged down in a r...