Iran: The Latest

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.

  1. World War 3? How Russia and China could be dragged into the Iran conflict

    14 HRS AGO

    World War 3? How Russia and China could be dragged into the Iran conflict

    Is this what the start of World War Three looks like? On the 11th day of the US-Israeli war with Iran, Roland looks at how the conflict is broadening well beyond Iran’s borders. President Donald Trump has hinted the war is nearly over, but ACLED CEO Clionadh Raleigh says it is dangerously close to dragging in Russia and China given they have already openly backed Iran. She also talks through what the data says about this conflict so far, from the high intensity of the military campaign to the surprisingly low casualty rates.  Plus, Senior Foreign Correspondent Sophia Yan reports from the Iraqi side of the Iranian border where she has been speaking to Iranian Kurdish separatist leaders who say they have thousands of fighters ready to go. Trump has flip-flopped over whether he would support the separatist groups as a proxy ground force in the US-Israel war against Iran. But they say America cannot topple Tehran’s regime without their help. CONTRIBUTORS: Roland Oliphant, Chief Foreign Affairs Analyst and co-host @RolandOliphant Sophia Yan, Senior Foreign Correspondent @sophiayan Clionadh Raleigh, ACLED CEO, @cliona_raleigh CONTENT REFERENCED: Trump needs us to win war, says Kurdish opposition commander https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/08/kurdish-militia-leader-trump-needs-us-to-win-iran-war/ Kurds desperate to invade Iran... if they get Trump’s jets https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/08/kurds-desperate-invade-iran-cover-trump-jets/ 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.

    35 min
  2. Why Iran's new supreme leader could intensify the war

    1 DAY AGO

    Why Iran's new supreme leader could intensify the war

    Could Iran’s new leader be worse than the old one? On the 10th day of the US-Israeli war with Iran, Roland looks at why IRGC-favourite Mojtaba Khamenei has been chosen as the new supreme leader to take over from his assassinated father and what it means for the regime. Plus, Venetia gets a view from the Gulf about the growing oil crisis, fears over dwindling interceptor missile stocks and how the war is dragging in countries there. CONTRIBUTORS: Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey Roland Oliphant, Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator and co-host @RolandOliphant Sascha Bruchmann, IISS Research Fellow for Defence and Military Analysis CONTENT REFERENCED: David Blair: New supreme leader shows folly of Trump’s war https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/09/new-iran-supreme-leader-folly-trump-iran-war/ Iran has already made its first big miscalculation of the war https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/09/iran-first-big-miscalculation-war/ Iran war, day ten: Everything you need to know https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/09/iran-war-day-ten-everything-you-need-to-know/ 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.

    48 min
  3. Shock and awe but no regime change: one week of Trump’s Iran war

    4 DAYS AGO

    Shock and awe but no regime change: one week of Trump’s Iran war

    It’s the seventh day of the US-Israeli war with Iran and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has said America is about to dramatically increase the amount of firepower over the country as the military campaign moves into the next phase. On today’s episode, Venetia takes a step back and looks at what has been achieved so far over one week of war. She is joined by Col. Simon Diggins, a former British Army Officer who has served in the Middle East, and Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute. They discuss how much progress America has made with its stated objectives, whether Iran is running out of missiles or holding them back, the Shahed drone problem, what’s left of the Iranian navy and why regime change still seems a distant prospect for now. Plus, two arguments for and against the UK becoming militarily involved - is it Keir Starmer’s moral duty or does Britain have nothing relevant to offer? Read Iran war, day seven: Everything you need to know: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/06/iran-war-day-seven-everything-you-need-to-know/ Read Trump to use British bases for ‘surge’ in Iran attacks: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/06/trump-to-use-british-bases-for-surge-in-iran-attacks/ 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 Contact us with feedback or ideas: @venetiarainey @RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    45 min
  4. Is Europe being dragged into Trump’s Iran war?

    6 DAYS AGO

    Is Europe being dragged into Trump’s Iran war?

    In the wake of an attack on a British military base in Cyprus, the UK has said it will send an extra warship to the region. Does this make Britain militarily involved in America and Israel’s war against Iran? Or was that already true after Prime Minister Keir Starmer allowed Donald Trump to use British bases? Venetia and Roland discuss Europe’s growing involvement in the conflict and the countries that are resisting.  Iranian-British journalist Nazenin Ansari talks about why she is pro-regime change but doesn’t want this war, the brutality of the IRGC, and how Khamenei’s son Mojtaba would be just more of the same if picked as his successor.  Plus, senior foreign correspondent Sophia Yan sends a dispatch from the Turkish-Iranian border where she has been speaking to fleeing Iranians, and Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, explains how the UN’s health body prepared for the conflict.  Read Sophia Yan’s analysis of why China is unfazed by the war: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/04/why-china-is-unfazed-by-donald-trump-epic-fury/ Read Tom Cotterill on why this could be the Royal Navy’s biggest humiliation: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/03/is-this-the-royal-navys-biggest-humiliation/ Read our visual journalism deep dive on how Trump sank the Iranian navy: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/03/how-trump-sank-iranian-navy/ 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 Contact us with feedback or ideas: @venetiarainey @RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    53 min
  5. US obliterates Iranian navy, exclusive Trump chat & voices from inside Tehran

    3 MAR

    US obliterates Iranian navy, exclusive Trump chat & voices from inside Tehran

    Battle Lines is now Iran: The Latest! Roland and Venetia are going to be covering the new conflict every day for the weeks to come, bringing you the best of The Telegraph’s reporting from around the world and exclusive interviews with world-class experts in military strategy, diplomacy, and the Middle East. On today’s episode, Venetia and Roland look at America’s devastating attacks on Iran’s official Navy and the possibility of Saudi Arabia joining the war.  The Telegraph’s foreign reporter Akhtar Makoii shares his insights from speaking to people inside Iran about how ordinary people are now facing threats from both American bombs and the regime, who are out in force on the streets.  Maya Gebeily, Reuters’ bureau chief in Beirut, discusses the state of Hezbollah and the mood on the ground in Lebanon after Israel announced it is invading.  Plus, The Telegraph's US Correspondent Connor Stringer talks about his exclusive phone call with Donald Trump in the midst of the Iran war and why the president thinks Keir Starmer is “disappointing”.   Read Connor Stringer's exclusive chat with Trump: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/03/02/exclusive-trump-very-disappointed-in-starmer-over-iran/ Read Akhtar Makoii’s interviews with people inside Iran: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/02/iran-war-tehran-live-in-fear-us-bombs-whats-left-regime/ Read Akhtar Makoii’s rundown of Khamenei’s possible successors: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/03/the-four-men-who-could-save-or-destroy-iran/ 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 Contact us with feedback or ideas: @venetiarainey @RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    53 min
  6. Iran bombs entire Middle East after Ayatollah Khamenei assassinated by Israel and US

    2 MAR

    Iran bombs entire Middle East after Ayatollah Khamenei assassinated by Israel and US

    Iran's leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in an Israeli and US strike on Saturday morning, kicking off a major war that has since expanded to the entire Middle East. On day three of the conflict, Venetia and Roland run through the big updates, including the UK’s involvement, the ongoing death toll and how Iran is striking back on key targets in the region.  They also talk to former Israeli intelligence official and Iran expert Danny Citrinowicz about how poorly defined the war's goals are and why we aren't seeing any cracks in the regime yet. Plus, The Telegraph’s David Blair on the significance of Khamenei's assassination and Trump's conflicting messaging. Read Iran war, day three: Everything you need to know: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/02/iran-war-day-three-everything-you-need-to-know/ Read David Blair on why Trump’s incoherence on Iran maximises the risk of failure: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/28/trump-is-taking-a-monumental-risk-on-iran/ Read Roland Oliphant on the eight-month plot that led to Trump’s attack on Iran: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/28/donald-trump-attack-iran-israel-how-it-came-to-this/ 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 Contact us with feedback or ideas: @venetiarainey @RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    48 min

Shows with Subscription Benefits

Enjoy early access to our bonus episodes

4.5
out of 5
49 Ratings

About

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.

More From The Telegraph

You Might Also Like