Iran: The Latest

Iran has threatened to spread the war beyond the Middle East if Donald Trump starts bombing the country again. Is it an empty threat or should we be worried?

Jonathan Hackett, a former US Marine Corps interrogator and special operations intelligence officer, joins the podcast again to discuss the state of Iran’s military capabilities, their Mosaic Doctrine and what next for the war with Venetia Rainey, Sophia Yan and Roland Oliphant.

They also discuss reports today that the US wanted to install former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Ali Khamenei’s place, news of secret Israeli bases in the Iraqi desert, and the shady Iran-linked group known as HAYI behind a series of attacks on Jews in London.

Plus, as Vladimir Putin visits Xi Jinping in China, Sophia looks at how the energy crisis caused by the war has boosted Moscow by forcing the UK and US to drop sanctions on Russian oil, and Venetia looks at JD Vance’s latest comments on peace deal talks.

Highlights
Iran warns Trump: ‘We’ll take war global if you bomb us again’
A US Marine on Iran’s terror war against the West

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Sophia Yan, co-host and senior foreign correspondent @sophia_yan
Jonathan Hackett, former US Marine Corps @jonathanhackett

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Akhtar Makoii: Iran’s plan to strike back in second round of war
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/19/iran-plan-strike-back-second-round-war/

Badenoch: PM’s sanctions U-turn will fund killing of Ukrainian soldiers
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/05/20/starmer-eases-sanctions-on-russian-oil/

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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Donald Trump has postponed his “scheduled” attack on Iran for now, but who is winning the online war between the two countries?

America’s military has pumped out videos of air strikes and missile attacks, often spliced in with video game footage and overlaid with high octane music for maximum effect. Meanwhile, Iranian activists have created slick Lego animation videos set to hip hop music. Venetia Rainey chats to information warfare specialist Tal Hagin about which is cutting through more.

They also discuss the rise in AI-driven misinformation, anti-Semitism and desensitisation during the Iran war, from the deadly Minab school attack to Benjamin Netanyahu’s “extra” finger and rumoured death.

Plus, how can Israel deal with the growing Hezbollah drone threat? Lieutenant Colonel Sarit Zehavi, founder of the Alma Center, explains what it’s like living in northern Israel at the moment and why a bigger war with Lebanon would be needed to root out the terror group.

Highlights
America’s Call of Duty vs Iran’s Lego videos: who is winning the online war?
Why Israel wants to go deeper into Lebanon to root out Hezbollah

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Tal Hagin, information warfare analyst @talhagin
Lt Col. Sarit Zehavi, founder Alma Center @ZehaviAlma

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.

Executions have soared inside Iran, with new Amnesty data today showing more than 2,000 people were given the death penalty in 2025.

Roland Oliphant speaks to Iranian journalist in exile Maryam Mazrooei about the “bloodthirsty” regime’s latest tactic to scare citizens into silence amid the war with the US and Israel. She also explains why the mood inside the country is increasingly dark amid a growing economic disaster, with mass layoffs and no internet.

Plus, the UK has fitted new laser-guided missiles to its Typhoon jets on patrol in the Gulf. Venetia Rainey talks to acting defence editor Tom Cotterill about how they have been designed to talk on Iranian Shahed drones and why they were developed so fast.

Tom also talks about his recent trip to the Falklands, where locals dismissed rumours that the US may drop its backing for British sovereignty over the Islands as punishment for not joining Donald Trump’s war against Iran.

Highlights
Gulf gets new laser-guided missiles to help smash Iranian drones
‘Bloodthirsty’ Iran regime executions hit all-time high as economy freefalls

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Tom Cotterill, acting defence editor @TomCotterillX
Maryam Mazrooie, journalist @MaryammazrooeiS

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Trump: There won’t be anything left of Iran if it refuses peace deal
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/17/trump-wont-be-anything-left-of-iran-if-refuses-peace-deal/

Typhoon jets equipped with cheaper missiles to fend off Iranian attacks
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/17/typhoon-jets-new-missiles-iran-attacks/

Tom Cotterill: Trump is using us as a pawn, says Falklands chief
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/10/falkland-islands-trump-is-using-us-as-a-pawn/

David Blair: Iran’s regime is confident of victory. It may be overplaying its hand
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/17/irans-regime-confident-of-victory-it-may-overplaying-hand/

Amnesty: Executions surge to highest recorded figure in 44 years
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/05/executions-surge-highest-recorded-figure-44-years/

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.

Donald Trump ended his high stakes trip to China claiming Xi Jinping had promised not to arm Iran, wanted the Strait of Hormuz open, and backed his goal of preventing Tehran getting a nuclear weapon.

But does any of that amount to a change in Chinese policy, and will it do anything to bring the frozen but still rumbling conflict to a close?

Sophia Yan speaks to Andrea Ghiselli, a China-Iran expert who has spent the war in China, about how the conflict is perceived in Beijing. Plus, Roland Oliphant summarises the latest news from the Middle East, including renewed drone strikes in Iraq.

Highlights:
Trump says that Xi has pledged no military equipment to Iran
Cautious optimism in Lebanon as talks with Israel progress

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Sophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent, @sophia_yan
Andrea Ghiselli, China-ME expert and lecturer at the University of Exeter @AGhiselliChina

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.

As two more ships are attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and the ceasefire in Lebanon nears its end, all eyes are on the high-stakes US-China summit in Beijing.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping say they agree that Iran must not have nuclear weapons and that the Strait must be reopened - but what does that mean in practice?

Ahmed Aboudouh, Associate Fellow for Middle East and North Africa at Chatham House, joins Roland Oliphant and Sophia Yan and explains how Beijing’s complex relationship with Tehran and the Gulf monarchies will inform its approach to the war.

Highlights
What Beijing really wants from the Iran crisis
The balancing act between Tehran and the Gulf states

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Sophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent, @sophia_yan
Ahmed Aboudouh, Chatham House @AAboudouh

CONTENT REFERENCED:

China ‘secretly planning to ship arms to Iran’
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/05/13/china-weapons-deal-iran/

China will benefit from the Iran war, regardless of any deal between Trump and Tehran
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/05/china-will-benefit-iran-war-regardless-any-deal-between-trump-and-tehran

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.