Iran: The Latest

Iran appears increasingly confident that it will secure a favourable end to the war with the US.

From demanding $24bn in frozen assets to publishing what they say is a draft peace deal to restoring the Internet after nearly 90 days, Tehran seems to feel victory both at home and abroad is within its grasp. Foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii joins Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey to discuss the latest news from inside Iran, as well as the significance of one of the country’s biggest exports: pistachios.

Plus, as Israel launches a deadly new phase in its campaign against Hezbollah, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel joins from Beirut to share her insights on what it’s like working as a peacekeeper in southern Lebanon caught between the two longtime enemies.

Highlights
Iran demands $24bn to sign US peace deal - will Trump accept?
'They think the war is over': Why Iran is restoring internet access

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Akhtar Makoii, foreign correspondent @akhtar_makoii
Kandice Ardiel, UNIFIL spokesperson @hikandice

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Iran will sign peace deal only if US releases $24bn of frozen assets
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/26/iran-peace-deal-us-release-24bn-frozen-assets/

The $24bn cost of Trump’s capitulation on Iran
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/05/26/trump-us-iran-capitulation/

Akhtar Makoii: Iran’s hardliners are sabotaging their own government’s peace talks
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/26/iran-hardliners-sabotaging-peace-talks/

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
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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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The US says it has bombed Iranian mine-laying ships in the Strait of Hormuz and a missile launch site in southern Iran. Tehran says it has downed American drones. Is the war about to restart?

Former Royal Navy officer Tom Sharpe explains what we know about the latest tit-for-tat military activity today and why the timing is unusual. He also gives an inside look at the threat posed by Iran’s newly deployed “ship-smashing” Ghadir mini-submarines, known as the “dolphins of the Persian Gulf”.

Plus, Venetia Rainey and Sophia Yan discuss why the signs suggest peace talks are set to continue for now. While Chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair analyses what Donald Trump could get out of a deal - and why he’s making more and more concessions to the Iranian regime each passing week, including over its nuclear programme.

Highlights
Clashes in Hormuz as US ‘blows up’ Iranian mine-laying ships
Why Donald Trump is chasing a ‘quick and incomplete deal’

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Sophia Yan, co-host and senior foreign correspondent @sophia_yan
David Blair, chief foreign affairs commentator @davidblairdt
Tom Sharpe, ex-Royal Navy officer @TomSharpe134

CONTENT REFERENCED:

US strikes on Iran threaten fragile ceasefire
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/26/us-strikes-on-iran-threaten-fragile-ceasefire-war/

David Blair: Trump’s latest gambit on Iran is a smokescreen
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/26/trump-latest-gambit-iran-smokescreen/

Tom Sharpe: Iran’s ship-smasher mini subs are loose in Hormuz. I’ve been up against them before
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/18/iran-irin-irgcn-mini-submarines-torpedoes-strait-hormuz/

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.

In this special bank holiday episode, we’re taking a break from looking at the US-Iran war and focusing instead on tanks.

Since it first appeared on the Somme battlefield, the tank has dominated and defined modern warfare. It has been such a successful concept that its distinctive silhouette - two tracks, a turret and a gun - has barely changed in a hundred years. But can it survive in the century of the drone? Or will the venerable tank go the way of the armoured knight before it?

Hamish de Bretton Gordon, a former commander of the Royal Tank Regiment and the author of a new book on the subject, Tank Command, takes Roland Oliphant through the history of armoured warfare. They discuss why the tank has long been the ultimate instrument of battlefield shock action from World War 1 to the Arab-Israeli war to Ukraine today. Hamish argues that in 100 years from now, armies will still be fielding - and fighting against - tanks.

Plus, Hamish shares what it’s like to command a Challenger, his ultimate "petrol-head" tank from history, and the definitive Hollywood film every enthusiast needs to watch.

Highlights
Why the lessons of tank development are still hugely relevant today
What it’s like to command a Challenger

CONTRIBUTORS:
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former tank commander @HamishDBG

CONTENT REFERENCED:
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon’s new book Tank Command is out June 4: https://linktr.ee/TankCommand

Producer: Max Bower
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.

With Iran peace talks deadlocked, US military attention appears to be turning to another longtime enemy: Cuba.

This week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Cuba a threat to US security. Indictments have been issued against its elderly former president Raúl Castro. Claims about a Cuban drone stockpile aimed at the US have been leaked to the press. The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier has been deployed to the Caribbean. A blockade has been in place for months, leading to mass blackouts.

Carlos Solar, RUSI’s senior research fellow for Latin American security, joins Roland Oliphant to examine whether the United States is creating a pretext for an attack on Cuba. They discuss why things are escalating in the Caribbean and what an attack on the country might look like. Plus, how it is all connected to the war in Iran.

Highlights
First Venezuela, then Iran. Is Cuba next on Trump’s hit list?
How the Iran war is pushing Cuba’s regime over the edge

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Carlos Solar, RUSI Latin American Security senior fellow @CSolar

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Trump: deploying aircraft carrier to Caribbean is not meant to intimidate Cuba

Rubio: Cuba is a national security threat

Cuba is dark, desperate and still deluded

Producer: Max Bower
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.

Oil flows will not return to normal until the second half of next year - even if the Strait of Hormuz opens now.

That’s the grim prognosis of the UAE’s most senior oil executive. But even if it does open, Iran is implementing a system of tolls that will have long-term implications, both in the Middle East and further afield. International economic editor Hans van Leeuwen tells Roland Oliphant how the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is transforming shipping all over the world.

Hans also looks at why India’s leader Narendra Modi is in Europe at the moment trying to drum up deals amid fears the Iran war could impact his country’s superpower trajectory.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu clash over whether to restart active hostilities, Pakistan’s army chief heads to Tehran to coax the regime towards a peace deal, and Iran says it will not give up its Uranium.

Highlights
How Iran’s Strait of Hormuz toll could spread worldwide
Why the Iran war is throwing India off its superpower trajectory

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Hans van Leeuwen, international economics editor @hansvan333

CONTENT REFERENCED:

How Trump trampled on Modi’s dream of an Indian superpower
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/05/20/how-trump-trampled-on-modis-dream-of-an-indian-superpower/

Iran weaponised world trade and others are following suit
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/05/19/iran-weaponised-world-trade-and-others-are-following-suit/

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.