Iran: The Latest

Ali Larijani, Iran’s security chief, is believed to have been assassinated today by Israel in what could be a huge blow to the Iranian regime.

Roland Oliphant is joined by Akhtar Makoii to explain who Larijani was and why his death could be more significant for Tehran than Khamenei’s amid the ongoing US war.

Plus, Roland speaks to opposition figure Ali Safavi, part of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The NCRI is essentially Iran’s anti-monarchy opposition group and is led by the highly controversial People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) - previously designated as terrorists.

MEK supporter Safavi argues that an armed uprising rather than a war is needed to overthrow the Islamic Republic. He also discusses the MEK’s chequered history, the Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, and the enormous divisions among Iranian diaspora opposition groups.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Akhtar Makoii, foreign correspondent
Ali Safavi, National Council of Resistance of Iran @amsafavi

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Larijani’s death is more significant than that of supreme leader
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/17/ali-larijani-killing-hits-iran-more-than-ayatollah-death/

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan
Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

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No one knew how Iran’s new supreme leader survived the 30 bombs dropped on his father’s compound. Until now.

The Telegraph’s foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii has obtained exclusive audio from an IRGC meeting that explains how Mojtaba Khamenei escaped the deadly US-Israeli strikes that killed his father, wife, sister, and other relatives on the first day of the Iran war. It also sheds new light on why he was chosen as Ali Khamenei’s successor.

Plus: how do you reopen the Strait of Hormuz and what can the UK really do to help Donald Trump? Jack Watling, senior research fellow for Land Warfare at the Royal United Services Institute, joins Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey to discuss the military options and why even they might not be enough.

They also talk about how China might be looking to take advantage of this conflict and the impact of the Iran war on Indo-Pacific security. Watling’s new book, Statecraft: The New Rules of Power in a Divided World, is out this week and is published by Macmillan.

CONTRIBUTORS:
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey
Akhtar Makoii, foreign correspondent @akhtar_makoii
Jack Watling, senior research fellow RUSI @Jack_Watling

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Mojtaba Khamenei escaped death by seconds, leaked audio reveals
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/16/exclusive-mojtaba-khamenei-escaped-death-leaked-audio/

Trump wants Britain to send a warship to the Gulf. Starmer has sent eight sailors
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/15/trump-wants-starmer-warship-gulf-sent-eight-sailors/
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From Iran’s perspective, this war is going according to plan. Even though America and Israel have dominated the battlefield, the regime has not collapsed, the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked, and the entire region is under pressure. Yet major questions remain over how many missiles they have left and how long they can stop major protests from erupting once again on the streets.

Roland Oliphant is joined by The Telegraph’s chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair and foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii to discuss the conflict so far and answer listeners’ questions.

Plus, Jonathan Hackett, a former Marine Corps interrogator, counterintelligence agent, and special operations intelligence officer, returns to give his assessment of the past two weeks, discuss the Israeli covert ops taking place on the ground, and look at where things might go from here.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
David Blair, chief foreign affairs commentator @davidblairdt
Akhtar Makoii, foreign correspondent @akhtar_makoii
Jonathan Hackett

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Mojtaba Khamenei has called for Iranian unity – but he may not be alive
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/13/mojtaba-khamenei-uniting-iran-against-trump-may-not-alive/

David Blair: Iran’s leaders have every reason to believe they’re succeeding
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/12/irans-leaders-every-reason-believe-succeeding/

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan
Executive Producer: 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.

Does the US war with Iran make strategic sense? No, says Britain’s foremost military expert and strategist, Sir Lawrence Freedman.

Talking to Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey on The Telegraph’s Iran: The Latest podcast, Sir Lawrence shares his damning verdict of Donald Trump’s military operation against the Iranian regime: no proper preparation and no thinking through the risks.

They also discuss the global oil crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon, lessons (or not) from the Iraq war, and the impact on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Sir Lawrence is the emeritus professor of war studies at King’s College London and has spent half a century looking at wars, national security and defence doctrine. He is new book, On Strategists and Strategy, is a collection of essays covering the Iraq war, the importance of tactics and nuclear deterrence.

CONTRIBUTORS:
Roland Oliphant, Chief Foreign Affairs Analyst and co-host @RolandOliphant
Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey
Sir Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies King's College London @LawDavF

CONTENT REFERENCED:

A girls’ school in Iran was blown up. Here’s what locals say happened
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/10/girls-school-iran-blown-up-locals-say-happened/

The evidence that shows a US missile hit an Iranian girls’ school
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/10/evidence-shows-us-missile-hit-iranian-girls-school/

Con Coughlin: Putin has been the Iran war’s big winner
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/12/putin-iran-war-big-winner/

Tom Sharpe: The Strait of Hormuz has been opened by force before, and it can be again
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/12/strait-hormuz-us-navy-escort-tanker-war-iran-force-open/

Producer: Peter Shevlin
Executive Producer: 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.

How do Iranians inside Iran feel about Trump’s war?

With no independent reporting allowed, an internet blackout in place and harsh punishments for anyone who speaks out against the regime, it’s hard to tell. But there are some voices getting out - and some are happy about the American-Israeli attack. Sahar Zand, an Iranian-British investigative journalist based in London, shares messages from Iranians in the country who have been speaking to her.

Plus, The Telegraph’s Global Health Security Editor Paul Nuki joins from Beirut to talk about the latest in Israel’s escalating war against Hezbollah and the death, damage and disruption it’s causing on the ground.

CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey
Arthur Scott-Geddes, co-host @ascottgeddes
Sahar Zand, journalist @SaharZand

Producer: Peter Shevlin
Executive Producer: 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/

CONTENT REFERENCED:

How Iran’s ‘horizontal warfare’ could trap Trump in another Vietnam
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/10/iran-horizontal-warfare-trap-trump-another-vietnam/

UN claims 700,000 displaced in Lebanon after Israeli bombings
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/10/un-claims-700000-displaced-in-lebanon-after-israeli-bombing/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.