Iran: The Latest

The US-Iran ceasefire is in crisis following a violent weekend of escalation. From the IRGC damaging a ship in the Strait of Hormuz so badly that the crew had to abandon it, to President Donald Trump declaring he "bombed the hell out of them" after striking dozens of targets, the war appears to be back on in all but name. Now, Trump has reimposed the US naval blockade and announced a toll.

On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant break down a frantic weekend of military action, including the US deploying one-way attack sea drones for the first time and the collapse of Omani negotiations to reopen the Hormuz waterway.

Plus, the damage done by Iran repeatedly launching missile and drone strikes against US airbases across the Gulf and Jordan is growing. King’s College London security expert Dr. Andreas Krieg unpacks how China and Russia are actively backing Iran's underground missile infrastructure to bleed Western interceptor stocks and distract the US from the Indo-Pacific.

Highlights
Trump reimposes Strait of Hormuz blockade and attacks Iran with sea drones
Iran attacks on American bases across Middle East ‘leave US in the dark’

CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Andreas Krieg, King’s College London and Institute of Middle Eastern Studies @andreas_krieg

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

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Telegraph View: The Iranian regime continues to sow chaos
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2026/07/13/the-iranian-regime-continues-to-sow-chaos/

Iran bombs US supply lines in fight for Strait of Hormuz
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/12/iran-aims-to-cripple-us-navy-supply-in-major-air-strikes/

Starmer proscribes Iran’s IRGC
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/13/keir-starmer-proscribes-irans-islamic-revolutionary-guards/

ITL Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026
The Telegraph Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026
ITL Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026

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
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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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Four months after he was assassinated by Israeli and US airstrikes on the first day of the Iran war, former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei has been buried in an elaborate funeral.

But who was he behind all the mythology and pomp? How did he shape modern Iran into the impoverished, rogue nation it is today? And what does his life tell us about what his son Mojtaba Khamenei will be like as Iran’s new leader?

Venetia Rainey speaks to Ali Ansari, professor of Iranian History and director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews, about Khamenei’s legacy and backstory. Ali lays out how this fake ayatollah was corrupted by absolute power, how he allied with the IRGC to steal the state's wealth, and why his "princeling" son Mojtaba is even weaker.

Highlights
‘Bitter, weak and corrupted’: how Ali Khamenei ruined Iran
Ali Ansari on his backstory and what his son Mojtaba will be like

CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Ali Ansari, professor University of St Andrews @aa51_ansari

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

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/

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The burst of strikes between Iran and the US has died down but the Strait of Hormuz has seized up, with shipping coming to an almost complete standstill on the southern non-Iranian route. On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant discuss how this is exactly what Tehran wants.

Meanwhile, Israel has revealed that Donald Trump is the subject of a “new and specific” assassination plot by Iran, and Ali Khamenei has finally been buried - with his son Mojtaba Khamenei still nowhere to be seen.

Plus, what does this week’s Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey tell us about the future of the alliance and the trans-Atlantic security relationship? Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), gives her analysis of Trump’s Greenland comments, how Ukraine was the real winner, and why America's aggressive global force posture review is a "protection racket".

Highlights
Iran’s Trump ‘assassination plot’ revealed as Strait of Hormuz closes up
RUSI chief Rachel Ellehuus on Trump, the Nato summit and Greenland

CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign analyst @rolandoliphant
Rachel Ellehuus, RUSI director-general @rach_ellehuus

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

CONTENT REFERENCED:
What I saw behind the scenes at Nato’s tumultuous summit

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/09/behind-the-scenes-nato-turkey-summit/

Trump ‘forced to use old Air Force One over security fears’
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/07/09/trump-forced-to-use-old-air-force-one-over-security-fears/

Millions block streets for Khamenei burial
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/09/iran-us-war-latest-news-strikes-strait-of-hormuz-nato/

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The US-Iran war has escalated significantly amid a second consecutive night of heavy American strikes on Iran and a furious response from Tehran.
On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey and Sophia Yan look at why for the first time since the ceasefire in April, President Donald Trump ordered cruise missiles to attack a critical railway bridge used to trade with Russia and China.
After Tehran responded with kamikaze drones and ballistic missiles targeting US military assets across Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan, they ask what next for the peace talks.
Plus, why the 2026 Nato summit's quiet winner is Turkey. Sophia dives into the country’s exploding defence sector, its simmering rivalry with Israel, and how it has gone from black sheep to core member of Nato. And everything we know about the personalised handgun Erdogan gave world leaders as a farewell gift.

Highlights

Iran attacks more US bases across the Middle East
Comes after Trump struck a key Russia-China railway link in Iran

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

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

CONTENT REFERENCED:
How Turkey is powering Europe’s rearmament
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/09/how-turkey-became-new-pillar-european-defence/

Erdogan gives every Nato leader a gun as farewell gift
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/08/erdogan-nato-summit-fun-keir-starmer-donald-trump/

Monday’s episode: Where is Iran’s new supreme leader?
https://linktr.ee/iranthelatest

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 dramatically declared that the US-Iran ceasefire is officially "over", calling Tehran an "evil cancer" during a fiery outburst alongside Nato chief Mark Rutte in Ankara, Turkey. He also attacked fellow Nato members including Spain and reiterated his demand to take over Greenland from Denmark. Roland Oliphant and Joe Barnes report live from the Nato summit on a second day of drama.
The sudden escalation in the war follows a wave of Iranian attacks on oil tankers taking the Omani route in the Strait of Hormuz, including one from Qatar for the first time since the war began. The US responded with its own strikes on coastal targets and cancelled an oil sanctions waiver, prompting Iran to send drones and missiles at Bahrain and Kuwait.
On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey breaks down the latest military and diplomatic news from the Middle East with Dr. Dania Thafer, director of the Gulf International Forum, and asks whether it’s time for military action to break Tehran’s grip on Hormuz.
Highlights

Trump ends US-Iran ceasefire and axes oil licence
US bombs 80 Iran targets after Tehran’s Strait of Hormuz oil tanker blitz

CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Dania Thafer, director Gulf International Forum @Dr_DaniaThafer

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

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Listen to Ukraine: the Latest: https://linktr.ee/UkraineTheLatest

Trump: Ceasefire with Iranian scum is over
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/08/trump-ceasefire-with-iranian-scum-is-over/

We are ready to defend Greenland, Denmark’s PM tells Trump
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/08/we-are-ready-to-defend-greenland-denmark-pm-tells-trump/

David Blair: Iran’s regime is now stronger than before Trump’s war
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/08/iran-stronger-because-of-trump/

US carries out fresh strikes on Iran in response to Hormuz attacks
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/07/trump-ban-iran-from-selling-oil-hormuz-attacks/

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/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.