Iran: The Latest

Donald Trump has declared the war with Iran “effectively over,” claiming Middle East allies are protected and the Strait of Hormuz is effectively open. Tehran says talk of a deal is all “fake news”. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Roland Oliphant is joined by former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe to analyse the gulf between White House claims and the reality on the water. Tom unpacks why...

The US military has bombed Qeshm Island again and launched Operation Iron Gate - an ambitious land blockade designed to sever Iran’s resupply corridors with Russia and China. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Venetia Rainey is joined by Jonathan Hackett, retired US Marine Corps counterintelligence agent and author of 'Iran’s Shadow Weapons', to analyse whether Centcom’s latest moves...

Iran is rebuilding its bombed-out missile sites at the same time as dangling a nuclear offer in front of Donald Trump, as the US president weighs whether to restart strikes alongside Israel. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Venetia Rainey speaks to Iranian-American analyst Holly Dagres from the Washington Institute about the moods in Washington and Tehran in the wake of the Republican’s cr...

‘This is where the US-Israel-Iran war really began’ On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest , Venetia Rainey speaks to veteran Middle East journalist Kim Ghattas about Donald Trump’s stunning US midterm election losses, JD Vance demanding an end to the Iran war, and what it all means for the likelihood of American and Israeli strikes in the coming weeks. Kim talks about how her new book, The Best K...

The 2026 US midterms results are in: Donald Trump’s Republican Party has suffered a devastating defeat, losing both the House and the Senate amid voter fury over high fuel prices caused by the Iran war. In today’s episode of Iran: The Latest , Venetia Rainey and Sophia Yan break down how the elections have changed the Congress map, from Texas’s flip to Abdul el-Sayed’s Michigan win. Along with gue...

Donald Trump has launched secretive strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island, as Tehran threatens to tear up its nuclear weapons ban and Gulf allies brace for renewed war. In today’s episode of Iran: the Latest , Roland Oliphant looks at reports of five explosions in Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, home to an underground Iranian missile site, even as Trump insists the US has already "won" th...

Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has made a rare statement, threatening to wage war with “no geographical restrictions” if the US resumes strikes. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has issued a stark ultimatum: strike a peace deal including nuclear weapons or he will “hammer” sites including Pickaxe Mountain. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant break down the new...

Centcom’s commander Admiral Brad Cooper has briefed Donald Trump on options to resume major combat operations against Iran, as the war collides with next week’s high-stakes US midterm elections. On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Roland Oliphant is joined by Curt Mills, Executive Director of The American Conservative , to analyse how the Iran war is impacting the polls - and how the election...

The US and Israel are preparing for an imminent post-midterms strike campaign on Iran as new intelligence reveals Tehran has built a secret network of companies to rearm with the help of Russia and China. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey is joined by intelligence analyst and former US soldier Ryan McBeth to unpack whether another round of strikes can achieve anything more tha...

US President Donald Trump has backed Benjamin Netanyahu after a strong election result for the Israeli leader that is likely to lead to the imminent resumption of war with Iran even as Gulf states push for peace talks. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to Jerusalem correspondent Henry Bodkin and global health security editor Paul Nuki in Tel Aviv about the why Bibi beat...

This Israeli election is the most strategically consequential in the country’s history, with record turnout as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns voters to pick him or die. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Roland Oliphant talks to former Israeli defence intelligence analyst and INSS fellow Danny Citrinowicz about why Netanyahu is reported to have pushed Donald Trump to restart the Iran...

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...