Iran: The Latest

Trump has vowed Iran will “pay the price” after it launched multiple strikes on US bases throughout the Middle East.

The latest escalation came up after the US bombed Iran in response to a Shahed drone downing an American Apache helicopter in the Gulf of Oman. The crew were rescued by an unmanned boat - a US first. Venetia Rainey speaks to former US Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks about what this week’s events tell us about the growing role of autonomous systems in the military.

Plus, what is the Pentagon’s plan to combat the drone threat posed by enemies from Iran to China - and is it moving fast enough? Hicks and Aaron Sherman from the Atlantic Council talk about the Replicator project they launched in 2023 in the Department of Defence and why it’s more vital than ever.

Highlights

Trump vows Iran will ‘pay the price’ for firing at US bases
From Iran to China: inside the Pentagon's drone revolution

CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Kathleen Hicks, former US Deputy Secretary of Defence
Aaron Sherman, non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council

CONTENT REFERENCED:
How a cutting-edge AI drone boat saved defenceless US Apache pilots
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/06/09/apache-pilots-rescued-ai-drone-boat

Move Fast and Scale: A Brief Insiders' History of the Replicator Initiative
https://www.belfercenter.org/research-analysis/move-fast-and-scale-brief-insiders-history-replicator-initiative

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

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► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/
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The exchange of strikes between Israel and Iran have highlighted the tensions between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu after more than 100 days of war.

The US president wants the war to stop - now. The Israeli leader wants to keep going. Why? What else does he want to achieve? And why is Trump stopping him?

Venetia Rainey chats to Danny Citrinowicz, senior researcher at Israeli think tank the Institute for National Security Studies, about why most Israelis think that the war has been a ‘colossal failure’ and how he fears Iran’s regime has been the real winner in all of this.

Highlights:

Why Israelis think the war has been a ‘colossal failure’
Why Israel wants the Iran war to continue - and why Trump says no

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Danny Citrinowicz, senior researcher INSS @citrinowicz

CONTENT REFERENCED:

WATCH: 100 days of US-Iran war: the winners and losers so far
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3VEIOK3-SU

Israelis grow tired of Bibi and bomb shelters
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/08/israelis-grow-tired-of-bibi-and-bombshelters/

Netanyahu: Our war with ‘weak’ Iran isn’t finished
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/07/iran-launches-missile-attack-on-israel/

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 battlelines@telegraph.co.uk
► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/
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Iran and Israel have bombed each other for the first time since they agreed a ceasefire with the US in early April. Why? And can Donald Trump stop all-out war from re-erupting? Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant bring you all the latest updates from the past 24 hours, plus chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair and foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii discuss how we got here, the domestic factors at play in each country and what might happen next.

Plus, an American and Iranian on what we learned from 100 days of war. What are the big successes, what could have gone better, and what will the long-term implications be? Venetia and Roland speak to Ben Hodges, former US general and commander of the US Army in Europe, and Holly Dagres, Washington Institute analyst and author of The Iranist substack. They discuss the most significant moments from the war, the biggest winners and losers, and what surprised them.

WATCH THE FULL 100 DAYS OF WAR ROUNDTABLE NOW: https://youtu.be/-3VEIOK3-SU

Highlights

Iran and Israel bomb each other - what just happened?
100 days of war: an American and an Iranian debate

CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Ben Hodges, former commanding general US Army Europe @general_ben
Holly Dagres, Washington Institute analyst and The Iranist author @hdagres

Producer: Peter Shevlin and Phil Atkins
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 battlelines@telegraph.co.uk
► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

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How did heavily sanctioned Iran create a drone so cheap, deadly and effective that everyone from Russia to the US has copied it?

From the Gulf being inundated with attacks by Iranian Shaheds to Ukraine finding innovative new ways to counter the Russian version, Tehran has mass-produced a strategic weapon that has challenged traditional Western air-defence thinking.

To look at how Iran did it, what makes the Shahed so brutal and how to counter it, guest host from the Ukraine: the Latest team Sophie O’Sullivan speaks to Mykola Bielieskov, research fellow at the Kyiv-based National Institute for Strategic Studies, and Peter Lee, co-Director of the Centre for Defence, Risk and Resilience at Britain’s University of Portsmouth.

Plus, Sophie covers the latest major updates from the region, including Hezbollah’s rejection of the Israel-Lebanon deal as “Satan’s dream” and news of a secret deployment of elite Israeli military units to Azerbaijan.

Highlights
Iran’s cheap but deadly drones have reshaped warfare. Can the US catch up?
Why everyone from Russia to the US are copying the Shahed

CONTRIBUTORS:
Sophie O’Sullivan, guest host and producer Ukraine: the Latest
Mykola Bielieskov, research fellow at National Institute for Strategic Studies @MBielieskov
Peter Lee, professor at the University of Portsmouth

Producer: Phil Atkins
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 battlelines@telegraph.co.uk
► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/
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The US military is secretly helping ships circumvent Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz along a new route hugging the Omani coast.

Bryan Clark, a former US Navy officer and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, looks at whether this is a solution to the Hormuz crisis that has plagued Donald Trump and the rest of the world since the war began.

Plus, Hezbollah accuses Lebanon of “surrendering” after agreeing a deal with Israel. Venetia Rainey and Sophia Yan discuss the latest news, including the significance of the US House passing a war powers resolution to curb further American military activity and the death of British MI6 boss Sir Alex Younger.

Highlights
The secret US operation evading Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade
Israel and Lebanon to use “pilot zones” to push out Hezbollah

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Sophia Yan, co-host and senior foreign correspondent @sophia_yan

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Sir Alex Younger, long-serving head of MI6 who shaped the service for a ‘fourth generation of espionage’
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2026/06/03/sir-alex-younger-mi6-secret-intelligence-service-edward-sno/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-03/us-looks-to-unblock-hormuz-with-quiet-version-of-project-freedom

The Economist: A former spy chief’s take on intelligence and the Iran war
https://www.economist.com/insider/inside-defence/a-former-spy-chiefs-take-on-intelligence-and-the-iran-war

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 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.