Iran: The Latest

The focus of the US-Iran war rests once again on the Strait of Hormuz, is there any way to get it open again?

Since Donald Trump cancelled Project Freedom, Iran’s chokehold on the vital waterway is as tight as ever. But James Parkin has some ideas. The former Royal Navy rear admiral was in charge of the task force that broke the last attempted IRGC shut down in 2019, and tells Roland Oliphant that the US could do it again - if it really wanted to.

He also explains what it is like fighting the fanatical but talented sailors of the IRGC navy, and why he thinks their claims to have mined the Strait are probably lies.

Plus, The Telegraph’s foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii gives the view from Iran amid growing expectations of an imminent peace deal today, and Venetia Rainey looks at why Israel has suddenly bombed Beirut despite a ceasefire. They also discuss the latest news of extensive damage to American bases in the Gulf and the long-term implications.

Highlights
‘Trump could reopen Hormuz if he dared, I’ve done it’
Retired Royal Navy rear admiral James Parkin speaks out

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey
Akhtar Makoii, foreign correspondent @akhtar_makoii
James Parkin, retired Royal Navy rear admiral

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Connor Stringer: How Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ fell apart in one day
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/05/06/us-iran-trump-military-diplomacy-project-freedom/

Henry Bodkin: US and Iran ‘close’ to deal to end war
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/06/us-iran-close-deal-end-war-israel-middle-east-hormuz-strait/

Akhtar Makoii: Trump and Mojtaba Khamenei have more in common than they realise
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/06/trump-and-mojtaba-khamenei-have-more-in-common-they-realise/

Washington Post: Iran has hit far more U.S. military assets than reported, satellite images show
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/05/06/iran-us-bases-satellite-images/

NBC: Trump’s abrupt U-turn on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz came after backlash from allies
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trumps-abrupt-u-turn-plan-re-open-strait-hormuz-came-backlash-allies-rcna343845

Producer: Peter Shevlin
Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & Louisa Wells

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Is America’s Operation Epic Fury really over?

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US’s military campaign against the Iranian regime has finished, and there are growing reports of a US-Iran peace deal in the offing. Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant break down the top three news stories you need to know today, from why Donald Trump has ended Project Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz to the importance of talks between Iran and China.

Plus, did a spat over the Iran war prompt Trump to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany last week? Berlin correspondent James Rothwell explains the significance of America’s significant troop presence in the country and why America’s pull-out is fuelling speculation that Nato is well and truly over.

Highlights
The end of Operation Epic Fury amid growing talks of a peace deal
Why Trump has pulled troops from Germany following Iran war spat

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
James Rothwell, Berlin correspondent @JamesERothwell

CONTENT REFERENCED:

David Blair: Trump now has three options. They are all bad

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/06/trump-three-options-all-bad/

Akhtar Makoii: Trump and Mojtaba Khamenei have more in common than they realise
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/06/trump-and-mojtaba-khamenei-have-more-in-common-they-realise/

Donald Tusk: Nato is disintegrating
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/02/donald-tusk-nato-is-disintegrating/

Why the US cannot fight another war after Iran without China’s help
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/30/us-cannot-fight-another-war-after-iran-without-china-help/

Producer: Peter Shevlin
Executive 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/

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Is the US-Iran war about to restart amid escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz?
Donald Trump has launched Project Freedom - a US Navy mission to break the Iranian blockade imposed since the beginning of the war. However, while the White House has framed the escort of neutral vessels as a “humanitarian gesture”, Tehran sees it as an escalation. Iran has fired missiles and drones at ships and an oil port in the UAE, and today says it is “just getting started”.

Roland Oliphant and chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair discuss the latest updates and why both sides are now likely locked in a downward spiral, putting us “one step” away from renewed all-out fighting.

Plus, former US Navy submariner Bryan Clark, director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute, explains why America must put more force into the Strait of Hormuz if it wants to win against a patient enemy like Iran. He also talks through Iran’s remaining naval capabilities, from midget subs to fast boats.

Highlights
Why Trump’s Project Freedom will fail without more force
An ex-US Navy submariner on what it will take to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
David Blair, chief foreign affairs commentator @davidblairdt
Bryan Clark, senior fellow Hudson Institute @clarkdefense

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Trump has finally realised he must seize the Strait of Hormuz
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/04/trump-finally-realised-seize-the-strait-of-hormuz/

Producer: Peter Shevlin
Executive 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.

Within living memory, Tehran ruled an oil-rich great power brimming with intellectuals inspired by British democracy. So how did it become an impoverished rogue state at war with the West?

In this special Bank Holiday edition, Ali Ansari, professor of Iranian history at the University of St Andrews, takes Roland Oliphant through Iran's tumultuous modern era: from the 1906 Constitutional Revolution and the 1953 coup, to the 1979 ousting of the shah and the 2026 US assassination of Ali Khamenei.

From the blunders of the unlikely "midwife" of the modern Iranian state - Great Britain - to the catastrophic decisions of successive Supreme Leaders after the founding of the Islamic Republic, he charts the course that shaped the country Donald Trump is fighting today.

How do the myths overshadow the facts of the CIA's 1953 coup and the Iran-Iraq war? Why is the regime so obsessed with enriching uranium and fighting Israel and America? And is the UK guilty of betraying Iranian dreams of democracy?

Plus, how the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company brought association football to Tehran.

Highlights
Oil, revolution and ayatollahs: how Iran went from great power to rogue state
Professor Ali Ansari explains 20th-century Iranian history

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Ali Ansari, professor University of St Andrews @aa51_ansari

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Part 1: ‘Iran thinks it’s still a great power’: Why the regime won’t surrender
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/03/why-the-iranian-regime-wont-surrender-ali-ansari/

Producer: Max Bower
Executive 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/
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Donald Trump faces a critical decision as the Iran war drifts into a stalemate: double down on military force or hope the US blockade will break the deadlock.
Amid a deadline today for Trump to get Congress’ approval for further military operations under the War Powers Act, new reports suggest the Pentagon has requested the deployment of America’s Dark Eagle hypersonic missiles to the Middle East. Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant discuss the latest updates from the region.
Plus, what is Russia’s role in the Iran war? Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’s Iran program, explains how Moscow has supported Tehran and is using it as a “pawn” in the broader fight against the West. He also analyses the significance of the viral Iranian Lego propaganda videos and Mojtaba Khamanei’s latest statement.

Highlights
US 'could deploy hypersonic missiles' to Middle East
How Russia is supporting Iran to fight the West

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Behnam Ben Taleblu, Foundation for Defense of Democracies @therealBehnamBT

CONTENT REFERENCED:

US asks to move Dark Eagle hypersonic missiles towards Iran
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/30/us-asks-to-move-dark-eagle-hypersonic-missiles-towards-iran/

1,000 targets a day in Iran: How AI is accelerating war
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/01/1000-targets-day-how-ai-accelerating-america-iran-war/

Maven: the AI system helping the US bomb Iran
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdHYDGHN5rQ

Producer: Peter Shevlin
Executive 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.