Iran: The Latest

From the Strait of Hormuz to Lebanon, the Iran war has seen the West’s foes adopt asymmetric warfare with growing efficacy. Fresh off the boat from the Omani side of the Strait, Adrian Blomfield joins Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant. He explains how being out on the busy, misty and historic waterway helped him to understand why it is almost impossible for the US to counter Iran’s so-called “mosquito” fleet of fast boats.Meanwhile, Jerusalem correspondent Henry Bodkin discusses the growing threat posed by Hezbollah as it adopts Ukrainian drone tactics to fight Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. He talks through a particularly worrying video showing the terror group flying a fibre-optic first-person view (FPV) drone at a medivac helicopter. Plus, Venetia and Roland run through the latest updates from today, including Donald Trump’s new threat to Iran and bad signs from the Iranian economy. Highlights: Adrian Blomfield on his trip to the Strait of HormuzHenry Bodkin on the growing threat posed by Hezbollah as it adopts Ukrainian drone tacticsCONTRIBUTORS:Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiaraineyRoland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphantAdrian Blomfield, senior foreign correspondent @adrianblomfieldHenry Bodkin, Jerusalem correspondent @HenryBodkinCONTENT REFERENCED:Hezbollah attacks Israeli military helicopter with fibre optic droneshttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/28/hezbollah-attack-israeli-idf-helicopter-fibre-optic-drones/Adrian Blomfield: Here in the Strait, Iran’s mosquito fleet renders Trump blockade futilehttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/28/strait-of-hormuz-irans-mosquito-fleet-winning-blockade/Akhtar Makoii: Iran’s cost of living is out of control as Trump’s blockade takes holdhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/29/irans-cost-of-living-trump-blockade/Producer: Peter ShevlinExecutive 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 [email protected] ► 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’s regime is facing an existential crisis prompted by the US-Israeli war. Despite taking a military battering and the economy being in ruins, Tehran refuses to surrender to Donald Trump. Historian Arash Azizi takes Roland Oliphant and Sophia Yan inside the clash between the regime establishment and the ultra-hardliners who fear their vision of the Islamic Republic will not survive peace.  He explains why the country’s powerful, IRGC-linked chief negotiator Mohammad Ghalibaf is increasingly being attacked in Iranian media and the dilemma facing the Islamic Republic as it looks to make a deal without surrendering the anti-American dogmatism that revolutionaries hold so dear. Plus, senior foreign correspondent Adrian Blomfeld reports from the Strait of Hormuz and Sophia and Roland discuss the significance of the UAE pulling out of OPEC. HighlightsArash Azizi on why Iran’s hardliners are a “bunch of losers with no power”How the Iranian regime is facing a choice between reform and destruction CONTRIBUTORS:Roland Oliphant, co-host @rolandoliphantSophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent @sophiacyan Arash Azizi, author and historian Yale University @arash_tehran CONTENT REFERENCED:Adrian Blomfield: Here in the Strait, Iran’s mosquito fleet renders Trump blockade futilehttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/28/strait-of-hormuz-irans-mosquito-fleet-winning-blockade/Robert White, Iona Cleave: Trump ‘unlikely to accept’ Iran’s Hormuz deal https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/28/iran-war-live-trump-peace-talks-hormuz-strikes-lebanon/Producer: Peter ShevlinExecutive 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 [email protected] ► 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.

The US has severely depleted key munitions in the Iran war - and it’s already having global consequences. From delayed deliveries to allies such as Japan, South Korea and Ukraine, to a knockon impact on any future wars - such as a potential conflict with China over Taiwan - new analysis of America’s strategic stockpiles do not make for comfortable reading. Venetia Rainey talks to Mark Cancian and Chris Park from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) about what’s running low, why and what impact it will have. Plus, will Donald Trump strike a deal with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz instead of prioritising a nuclear agreement? That’s what Tehran is reportedly proposing today, but as veteran US diplomat David Satterfield explains, that comes with its own problems. With Iran playing the long-game in an asymmetric war, the former ambassador says Trump does not have many good options available. CONTRIBUTORS:Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiaraineyDavid Satterfield, former US diplomat and director of Baker Institute for Public PolicyMark Cancian, senior fellow CSIS @MarkCancianChris Park, research associate CSIS @chrhsparkCONTENT REFERENCED:Last Rounds? Status of Key Munitions at the Iran War Ceasefirehttps://www.csis.org/analysis/last-rounds-status-key-munitions-iran-war-ceasefireProducer: Elliot LampittExecutive 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 [email protected] ► 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.

The US-Iran ceasefire has limped into its third week, but can stuttering peace talks deliver a deal before war resumes? Roland Oliphant is joined by Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, to discuss the latest news and updates, including what Mojtaba Khamanei’s reported injuries tell us about the balance of power in Tehran. She also explains why the normally factional Iranian regime is united in its need to end the war, and how Donald Trump’s attempt to drive a wedge between “moderates” and “hardliners” is likely to fail.Plus, international economics editor Hans van Leeuwen explains why the world has been watching the wrong oil price - and how the global impact of the war could be worse than we thought. Highlights Why time is not on Trump’s side in the Iran warMojtaba Khamenei’s injuries and what they say about the Iranian regimeCONTRIBUTORS:Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphantHans van Leeuwen, International economics editor @hansvan333Sanam Vakil, MENA programme director Chatham House @SanamVakilCONTENT REFERENCED:Hans van Leeuwen: The world is watching the wrong oil priceProducer: Elliot LampittExecutive 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 [email protected] ► 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.

What will it take to protect the Strait of Hormuz from Iran’s sea mines and fast boats?With Tehran now charging extortionate tolls, attacking commercial ships who do not get permission to transit and reportedly laying around 20 sea mines, the vital waterway has become a living nightmare. President Donald Trump today told the US Navy to fire on any boats laying mines, but with Pentagon estimates that it will take six months to mine-sweep the Strait, is that enough? To discuss the problem, Venetia Rainey is joined by Emma Salisbury, an Associate Fellow at the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre. Emma explains how American minesweeping capabilities became so heavily degraded, why Iran’s non-conventional navy remains so effective and hard to destroy, and the maritime signs that Trump may be considering a return to all-out war. Plus, senior foreign correspondent Sophia Yan talks through the latest news and updates from the region, including the status of the US-Iran ceasefire, reports that America is running out of munitions, and the Lebanon-Israel peace talks to disarm Hezbollah. Highlights: Why it would take the US six months to minesweep the Strait of Hormuz - in peacetimeSophia Yan on how the Iran war became a game of chickenCONTRIBUTORS:Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiaraineySophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent @sophia_yanEmma Salisbury, associate fellow Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre @salisbotCONTENT REFERENCED:The Mine Gap: America Forgot How to Sweep the SeaIranian shadow fleet tankers break through US blockadeTrump has eight days to make up his mind on IranLast Rounds? Status of Key Munitions at the Iran War CeasefireProducer: Peter ShevlinExecutive 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 [email protected] ► 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.