Iran: The Latest

What’s it like to be taken hostage by the Iranian regime and imprisoned for months on end in Evin, Tehran’s most notorious prison, amid an unprecedented war with the US and Israel?

On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Roland Oliphant speaks to Joe Bennett, son of Lindsay Foreman, who has been detained since January 2025 with her husband Craig Foreman while on a round-the-world motorcycle tour. The British couple were this year sentenced to 10 years in prison over charges of espionage, which they deny and the British government has called “appalling” and “unjustifiable”.

Bennett discusses the harrowing conditions faced by his mum and their gruelling hunger strike protest. He shares the “chilling” moment he was on the phone with Lindsay while Israel conducted air strikes on Evin prison, saying he had “never heard screams like it”. He also blames the UK for not doing more to support his mother and other British hostages before her such as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori.

Plus: Iran has launched a further wave of strikes on US bases in Kuwait and the UAE, and Donald Trump has suggested the Strait of Hormuz should be renamed the 'Trump Strait'.
Highlights
'My mum was in Evin prison when Israel bombed it'
Joe Bennett on his mother Lindsay Foreman’s experience being held hostage by Iran

CONTRIBUTORS:
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Joe Bennett, son of Iran detainee Lindsay Foreman

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Joe Bennett: Starmer is allowing my mother to languish in Iranian jail
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/02/starmer-allowing-my-mother-to-languish-in-iranian-jail/

In Iran’s most notorious prison, I survived the very worst of human nature
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/08/mahvash-sabet-open-wide-the-doors/

Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026
Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026
Nominated Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026
The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Audio Producer: Peter Shevlin
Video Producer: 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 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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Donald Trump has ordered the deadliest attacks against Iranian targets since July, striking IRGC air defense systems, radars, telecommunications - and reportedly a wedding party.

On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant look at the fresh round of deadly escalating violence, including Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone barrage targeting US positions in Jordan, Iraq and the UAE, as well as killing sailors in the Strait of Hormuz.

Plus, SOAS’s China Institute director Steve Tsang breaks down Beijing’s calculated gamble on the Iran war, how China is building a new world order around itself, and why Xi Jinping is kicking himself that the PLA isn’t ready to invade Taiwan at this opportune moment.

Highlights
US strikes hit IRGC bases & Iran-Russia supersonic missile deal exposed
Why Xi Jinping is kicking himself that the PLA isn’t ready to invade Taiwan

CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Steve Tsang, director SOAS China Institute

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Iran attacks US bases after claiming American missiles hit wedding party
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/09/02/us-strikes-iran-airport/

Russia secretly helped Iran build missiles to target US warships
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/02/russia-helps-iran-build-c340l-supersonic-cruise-missiles/

Steve Tsang and Olivia Cheung: China's Global Strategy under Xi Jinping
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/chinas-global-strategy-under-xi-jinping-9780197828816

Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026
Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026
Nominated Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026
The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Audio Producer: Peter Shevlin
Video Producer: Max Bower
Researcher and Social Producer: Anna Hindmarsh and Lucy Hadlow
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 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.

For the first time in over a month, fighting has erupted in the Strait of Hormuz after US forces struck Iranian sea mine-equipped rocket launchers on Larak Island. Iran retaliated by targeting US bases in Jordan, prompting Donald Trump to vow to hit Iran “hard”.

On today's episode of Iran: The Latest, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant unpack the details of the violence and why Trump has posted an AI video of an attack on Kharg Island. They also discuss why President Masoud Pezeshkian is calling for a return to the Memorandum of Understanding peace deal amid growing pressure on Iran’s economy from the US blockade.

Plus, a leaked report shows top military commanders have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the war is unsustainable, as US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll abruptly resigns amid growing chaos in the Pentagon.

Picture credit: Trump / Truth Social - note, this image was AI generated

Highlights
Trump threatens Iran oil hub after US Jordan base attacked
US military warns war unsustainable amid growing Pentagon chaos

CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:
US strikes Iran for first time in a month
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/08/30/pete-hegseth-told-not-to-extend-iran-war/

Trump posts AI video of Kharg Island being ‘blown to smithereens’
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/08/31/donald-trump-ai-video-kharg-island-iran-middle-east/

Washington Post: Military leaders warn Hegseth against extending Iran war operations
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/30/military-leaders-warn-hegseth-against-extending-iran-war-operations/

Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026
Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026
Nominated Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026
The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Audio Producer: Max Bower
Video Producer: Peter Shevlin
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 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.

"Israel is in a situation of kind of spectacular military virtuosity, but also strategic impoverishment. You cannot kill everybody."

On today’s bank holiday bonus episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to historian Simon Sebag-Montefiore to get a historian’s view of the US-Israel-Iran war. Simon argues that Donald Trump’s biggest mistake was not stopping after 2025’s Operation Midnight Hammer, and that Benjamin Netanyahu is leading his country into a potential intra-Jewish civil war.
Plus, why the Iranian regime is a Mahdist-praetorian oligarchy, how the geopolitical concept of "the Middle East" became obsolete, and which dictators from the region’s modern history haunt him.
Simon Sebag Montefiore’s new book, The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East, is out now.
Highlights
Trump’s mistakes, Israel’s overreach and the end of the ‘Middle East’
Historian and author Simon Sebag-Montefiore on the Iran war

CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Simon Sebag-Montefiore, historian and author @simonmontefiore

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Simon Sebag Montefiore: Appeasing radical activists will make the West ungovernable
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/simon-sebag-montefiore-the-cauldron-interview/

Simon Sebag Montefiore: Starmer’s foreign policy risks rewarding aggressive extremists
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/07/montefiore-starmers-foreign-policy-rewards-extremists/

Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026
Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026
Nominated Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026
The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Audio Producer: Joleen Goffin
Video Producer: 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 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.

Six months into the Iran conflict, the war has devolved into an economic ‘quagmire’ as the US shifts strategy from kinetic strikes to prolonged blockade tactics under "Operation Economic Outcast".

On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Henry Bodkin speaks with Chief Washington Correspondent Connor Stringer to discuss why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could be in the firing line for a post-midterm cabinet purge as Trump desperately seeks a scapegoat for his low approval ratings and Iran war stalemate. They analyse how outgoing Mossad chief Dedi Barnea is pushing for total regime collapse in Tehran, and why Benjamin Netanyahu is openly defying Trump on Gaza peace terms.

Plus, they dissect CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s flight to Moscow, Mark Carney’s trade counter-attacks and the growing friction over prospective British sanctions in the West Bank.

Highlights
Six Months of War: The Iran Quagmire & Operation Economic Outcast
Trump Isolated? Netanyahu Defiance, Carney Tariffs, and UK West Bank Sanctions

CONTRIBUTORS:
Henry Bodkin, Jerusalem correspondent @HenryBodkin
Connor Stringer, chief Washington correspondent @connorstringer

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026
Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026
Nominated Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026
The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Audio Producer: David Dargahi
Video Producer: 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 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.