Iran: The Latest is The Telegraph’s defence, security and foreign affairs podcast providing deep-dive analysis on the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran. Veteran foreign correspondents Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey bring you the latest updates from The Telegraph’s award-winning journalists, plus exclusive interviews with world-class experts in military strategy, international relations, and Middle East policy. From attacks on the Gulf to Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Houthis in Yemen to the threat of nuclear escalation, stay informed with the best of The Telegraph’s Middle East coverage in one place. As the geopolitical landscape shifts, subscribe for essential updates on the security shifts defining our global future. Battle Lines, a defence podcast with a wider scope and created by David Knowles, previously lived on this feed. Don’t forget to follow and leave a review to stay updated on the latest in global conflict and foreign affairs.
Curated by: The Telegraph (416 videos)
“The inability or unwillingness of the Trump administration to connect the dots on what is going on, from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, is a reflection of the lack of really good deep strategic thinking.” On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey is joined once again by former Commanding General of US Army Europe, Gen Ben Hodges, to discuss the US-Iran war as it nears the 200-day mark. The Iran-backed Houthis have seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline including the strategic Perim Island, giving them control of the vital Bab al-Mandeb Strait. And despite pleas from Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) to intervene as oil prices surge toward $110/barrel, Donald Trump has refused to launch strikes, offering up intelligence assistance instead. Gen Hodges analyses the strategic drift that has marked the war, the Pentagon and US policy in the Middle East. Plus, why mass lie-detector tests and personnel purges signal China-style paranoia inside the Pentagon, what news of damage to US fighter jets in Jordan says about US military preparedness, and the hard lessons from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars 25 years on from the 9/11 attacks. #Yemen #RedSeaCrisis #BabelMandeb #MiddleEastWar #GeneralBenHodges #Pentagon #USMilitary #USNews #Geopolitics #OilPrices #IranConflict #BRICS2026 00:00 - Introduction & General Ben Hodges Returns 01:04 - Houthis Take Yemen's Red Sea Coastline & Bab el-Mandeb Strait 03:08 - How Dangerous is this Moment in the War? 05:00 - US Military Intelligence Sharing & Overstretched Forces 08:14 - Assessing the US War Effort & Risk of Dragging into 2029 12:40 - Economic Impacts: Red Sea Oil Shipping & Rising Energy Prices 16:13 - Geopolitical Shifts: BRICS Summit & Iran-Russia-China Alliances 19:51 - Strategic Drift & Pentagon Purges: Polygraph Tests and Resignations 23:44 - The Threat to Military Culture & Oath to the Constitution 25:48 - Reflections 25 Years After 9/11 & Lessons from the Iraq War 33:56 - Soft Power vs. Hard Power: Balancing Aid and Defence Strategy 38:23 - Conclusion & Wrap-Up Highlights Trump refuses Saudi plea for strikes as Houthis seize Red Sea US Gen Ben Hodges on the US-Iran war, Pentagon chaos and 9/11 CONTRIBUTORS: Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey Gen Ben Hodges, former Commanding General US Army Europe @general_ben WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk CONTENT REFERENCED: Trump refuses MBS pleas to stop Houthis’ rapid advance https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/11/trump-refuses-mbs-pleas-to-stop-houthis-rapid-advance/ Rubio and Vance ‘think Iran war could last beyond the end of Trump’s term’ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/09/10/white-house-iran-war-trump-term/ Pentagon forces staff to take lie detector tests over Iran war leaks https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/09/05/pentagon-lie-detection-polygraph-tests-military-iran-leaks/ RUSI UK Security in a Post Aid World: https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/projects/uk-security-post-aid-world 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 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/ ► Sign up to the Telegraph's free new daily newsletter, From the Editor, bringing you the latest news, features and analysis from the Telegraph newsroom: www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/secure/newsletter/from-the-editor/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_youtube_telegraphmain ► Get the latest headlines: www.telegraph.co.uk?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_youtube_telegraphmain ► Stay ahead with a Telegraph digital subscription: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/subscription/store?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_youtube_telegraphmain https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ and https://www.youtube.com/telegraph are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.