‘Hegseth is unfit’: US tank commander on Iran war failures, impeachment and running for Senate

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 the November midterm elections just weeks away, Achilles’ battle against Republican stalwart Jim Risch is a window into the problems facing the GOP as Donald Trump’s Iran war leads to rising fuel prices and fertiliser shortages back home. Is this the moment for a rise in independent military veteran candidates such as Achilles? Highlights ‘We lost 15 bases - Hegseth is unfit for duty’ US tank commander Todd Achilles on Iran war failures and running for Senate CONTRIBUTORS: Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey Todd Achilles, US Senate Idaho candidate @Achilles4Idaho WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk CONTENT REFERENCED: Green Beret leads ‘double haters’ in mission to blow up midterms https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2026/10/05/rhodes-scholar-green-beret-end-two-party-politics-montana/ US midterm elections 2026: How do they work and what could they mean for Trump? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/10/16/us-midterm-elections-2026/ Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026 Bronze Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026 Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026 Nominated Podcast of the Year - London Press Club Awards 2026 The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026 Producers: Peter Shevlin and Max Bower Researcher and Social Producer: Anna Hindmarsh Studio Operator: Andy Watson Executive Producer: Venetia Rainey ► 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.