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Iran: The Latest

Iran: The Latest

By: The Telegraph
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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.


Every Wednesday on Battle Lines: Global Health Security they’re joined by Arthur Scott-Geddes to look at the intersection between health and security, from bioweapons to warzone diseases to frontline medicine. You can watch these episodes here.


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.

Battle Lines: Global Health Security is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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

© Copyright 2026. All rights reserved.
Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Exclusive: Why Iran's new leader survived & how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
    Mar 16 2026

    No one knew how Iran’s new supreme leader survived the 30 bombs dropped on his father’s compound. Until now.


    The Telegraph’s foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii has obtained exclusive audio from an IRGC meeting that explains how Mojtaba Khamenei escaped the deadly US-Israeli strikes that killed his father, wife, sister, and other relatives on the first day of the Iran war. It also sheds new light on why he was chosen as Ali Khamenei’s successor.


    Plus: how do you reopen the Strait of Hormuz and what can the UK really do to help Donald Trump? Jack Watling, senior research fellow for Land Warfare at the Royal United Services Institute, joins Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey to discuss the military options and why even they might not be enough.


    They also talk about how China might be looking to take advantage of this conflict and the impact of the Iran war on Indo-Pacific security. Watling’s new book, Statecraft: The New Rules of Power in a Divided World, is out this week and is published by Macmillan.


    CONTRIBUTORS:

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

    Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey

    Akhtar Makoii, foreign correspondent @akhtar_makoii

    Jack Watling, senior research fellow RUSI @Jack_Watling



    CONTENT REFERENCED:

    Mojtaba Khamenei escaped death by seconds, leaked audio reveals

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/16/exclusive-mojtaba-khamenei-escaped-death-leaked-audio/


    Trump wants Britain to send a warship to the Gulf. Starmer has sent eight sailors

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/15/trump-wants-starmer-warship-gulf-sent-eight-sailors/

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

    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
  • Two weeks of Iran war: who's winning and losing?
    Mar 13 2026

    Two weeks into the American and Israel war with Iran, who is winning?


    From Tehran’s perspective, this war is going according to plan. Even though America and Israel have dominated the battlefield, the regime has not collapsed, the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked, and the entire region is under pressure. Yet major questions remain over how many missiles they have left and how long they can stop major protests from erupting once again on the streets.


    Roland Oliphant is joined by The Telegraph’s chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair and foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii to discuss the conflict so far and answer listeners’ questions.


    Plus, Jonathan Hackett, a former Marine Corps interrogator, counterintelligence agent, and special operations intelligence officer, returns to give his assessment of the past two weeks, discuss the Israeli covert ops taking place on the ground, and look at where things might go from here.


    CONTRIBUTORS:


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

    David Blair, chief foreign affairs commentator @davidblairdt

    Akhtar Makoii, foreign correspondent @akhtar_makoii

    Jonathan Hackett


    CONTENT REFERENCED:


    Mojtaba Khamenei has called for Iranian unity – but he may not be alive

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/13/mojtaba-khamenei-uniting-iran-against-trump-may-not-alive/


    David Blair: Iran’s leaders have every reason to believe they’re succeeding

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/12/irans-leaders-every-reason-believe-succeeding/


    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


    ► 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.

    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • ‘Strategically appalling’: Britain’s greatest military expert on Trump’s Iran war
    Mar 12 2026

    Does the US war with Iran make strategic sense? No, says Britain’s foremost military expert and strategist, Sir Lawrence Freedman.


    Talking to Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey on The Telegraph’s Iran: The Latest podcast, Sir Lawrence shares his damning verdict of Donald Trump’s military operation against the Iranian regime: no proper preparation and no thinking through the risks.


    They also discuss the global oil crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon, lessons (or not) from the Iraq war, and the impact on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.


    Sir Lawrence is the emeritus professor of war studies at King’s College London and has spent half a century looking at wars, national security and defence doctrine. He is new book, On Strategists and Strategy, is a collection of essays covering the Iraq war, the importance of tactics and nuclear deterrence.


    CONTRIBUTORS:

    Roland Oliphant, Chief Foreign Affairs Analyst and co-host @RolandOliphant

    Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey

    Sir Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies King's College London @LawDavF


    CONTENT REFERENCED:


    A girls’ school in Iran was blown up. Here’s what locals say happened

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/10/girls-school-iran-blown-up-locals-say-happened/


    The evidence that shows a US missile hit an Iranian girls’ school

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/10/evidence-shows-us-missile-hit-iranian-girls-school/


    Con Coughlin: Putin has been the Iran war’s big winner

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/12/putin-iran-war-big-winner/


    Tom Sharpe: The Strait of Hormuz has been opened by force before, and it can be again

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/12/strait-hormuz-us-navy-escort-tanker-war-iran-force-open/


    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


    ► 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.

    Show More Show Less
    39 mins
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