‘A bunch of losers with no power’: Why Iran’s hardliners won’t win

‘A bunch of losers with no power’: Why Iran’s hardliners won’t win

Iran’s regime is facing an existential crisis prompted by the US-Israeli war.  Despite taking a military battering and the economy being in ruins, Tehran refuses to surrender to Donald Trump. Historian Arash Azizi takes Roland Oliphant and Sophia Yan inside the clash between the regime establishment and the ultra-hardliners who fear their vision of the Islamic Republic will not survive peace.   He explains why the country’s powerful, IRGC-linked chief negotiator Mohammad Ghalibaf is increasingly being attacked in Iranian media and the dilemma facing the Islamic Republic as it looks to make a deal without surrendering the anti-American dogmatism that revolutionaries hold so dear.  Plus, senior foreign correspondent Adrian Blomfeld reports from the Strait of Hormuz and Sophia and Roland discuss the significance of the UAE pulling out of OPEC.  Highlights * Arash Azizi on why Iran’s hardliners are a “bunch of losers with no power” * How the Iranian regime is facing a choice between reform and destruction  CONTRIBUTORS: Roland Oliphant, co-host @rolandoliphant Sophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent @sophiacyan  Arash Azizi, author and historian Yale University @arash_tehran  CONTENT REFERENCED: Adrian Blomfield: Here in the Strait, Iran’s mosquito fleet renders Trump blockade futile [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/28/strait-of-hormuz-irans-mosquito-fleet-winning-blockade/] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/28/strait-of-hormuz-irans-mosquito-fleet-winning-blockade/ Robert White, Iona Cleave: Trump ‘unlikely to accept’ Iran’s Hormuz deal https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/28/iran-war-live-trump-peace-talks-hormuz-strikes-lebanon/ [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/28/iran-war-live-trump-peace-talks-hormuz-strikes-lebanon/] 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 battlelines@telegraph.co.uk  [https://open.acast.com/networks/65719504ffda880012bd81a4/shows/6583019ebbd71a00175001c8/episodes/battlelines@telegraph.co.uk%C2%A0] ► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/ [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The true cost of America’s hidden missile crisis & why US-Iran talks are deadlocked

The US has severely depleted key munitions in the Iran war - and it’s already having global consequences.  From delayed deliveries to allies such as Japan, South Korea and Ukraine, to a knockon impact on any future wars - such as a potential conflict with China over Taiwan - new analysis of America’s strategic stockpiles do not make for comfortable reading. Venetia Rainey talks to Mark Cancian and Chris Park from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) about what’s running low, why and what impact it will have.  Plus, will Donald Trump strike a deal with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz instead of prioritising a nuclear agreement?  That’s what Tehran is reportedly proposing today, but as veteran US diplomat David Satterfield explains, that comes with its own problems. With Iran playing the long-game in an asymmetric war, the former ambassador says Trump does not have many good options available.  CONTRIBUTORS: Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey David Satterfield, former US diplomat and director of Baker Institute for Public Policy Mark Cancian, senior fellow CSIS @MarkCancian Chris Park, research associate CSIS @chrhspark CONTENT REFERENCED: Last Rounds? Status of Key Munitions at the Iran War Ceasefire [https://www.csis.org/analysis/last-rounds-status-key-munitions-iran-war-ceasefire] https://www.csis.org/analysis/last-rounds-status-key-munitions-iran-war-ceasefire Producer: Elliot Lampitt 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 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 [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

‘Trump is wrong - Iran’s regime is not split over this war’

The US-Iran ceasefire has limped into its third week, but can stuttering peace talks deliver a deal before war resumes?  Roland Oliphant is joined by Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, to discuss the latest news and updates, including what Mojtaba Khamanei’s reported injuries tell us about the balance of power in Tehran.  She also explains why the normally factional Iranian regime is united in its need to end the war, and how Donald Trump’s attempt to drive a wedge between “moderates” and “hardliners” is likely to fail. Plus, international economics editor Hans van Leeuwen explains why the world has been watching the wrong oil price - and how the global impact of the war could be worse than we thought.  Highlights  * Why time is not on Trump’s side in the Iran war * Mojtaba Khamenei’s injuries and what they say about the Iranian regime CONTRIBUTORS: Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant Hans van Leeuwen, International economics editor @hansvan333 Sanam Vakil, MENA programme director Chatham House @SanamVakil CONTENT REFERENCED: Hans van Leeuwen: The world is watching the wrong oil price [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/04/23/the-world-is-watching-the-wrong-oil-price/] Producer: Elliot Lampitt 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 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 [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Sea mines and fast boats: how Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz

What will it take to protect the Strait of Hormuz from Iran’s sea mines and fast boats? With Tehran now charging extortionate tolls, attacking commercial ships who do not get permission to transit and reportedly laying around 20 sea mines, the vital waterway has become a living nightmare. President Donald Trump today told the US Navy to fire on any boats laying mines, but with Pentagon estimates that it will take six months to mine-sweep the Strait, is that enough?  To discuss the problem, Venetia Rainey is joined by Emma Salisbury, an Associate Fellow at the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre. Emma explains how American minesweeping capabilities became so heavily degraded, why Iran’s non-conventional navy remains so effective and hard to destroy, and the maritime signs that Trump may be considering a return to all-out war.  Plus, senior foreign correspondent Sophia Yan talks through the latest news and updates from the region, including the status of the US-Iran ceasefire, reports that America is running out of munitions, and the Lebanon-Israel peace talks to disarm Hezbollah.  Highlights:  * Why it would take the US six months to minesweep the Strait of Hormuz - in peacetime * Sophia Yan on how the Iran war became a game of chicken CONTRIBUTORS: Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey Sophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent @sophia_yan Emma Salisbury, associate fellow Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre @salisbot CONTENT REFERENCED: The Mine Gap: America Forgot How to Sweep the Sea [https://www.fpri.org/article/2026/03/the-mine-gap-america-forgot-how-to-sweep-the-sea/] Iranian shadow fleet tankers break through US blockade [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/21/iranian-shadow-fleet-tankers-break-through-us-blockade/] Trump has eight days to make up his mind on Iran [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/23/trump-has-eight-days-to-make-up-his-mind-on-iran/] Last Rounds? Status of Key Munitions at the Iran War Ceasefire [https://www.csis.org/analysis/last-rounds-status-key-munitions-iran-war-ceasefire] 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 battlelines@telegraph.co.uk  [https://open.acast.com/networks/65719504ffda880012bd81a4/shows/6583019ebbd71a00175001c8/episodes/battlelines@telegraph.co.uk%C2%A0] ► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/ [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Trump’s Iran ceasefire flounders as ‘utter chaos’ engulfs Strait of Hormuz

Instead of peace talks today, the US-Iran ceasefire is on the brink of collapsing and the Strait of Hormuz is heating up.  Despite the two-week deadline expiring today, JD Vance never boarded a plane to Pakistan for negotiations and neither did anyone from Iran. Instead, Donald Trump has extended the ceasefire indefinitely and the IRGC has today attacked several more international ships. Is the war about to restart? Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant are joined by chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair and foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii to discuss the latest news, decode the signals from each side and explain what might happen next.  Plus, Roland chats to Richard Mead, editor-in-chief of the maritime industry bible Lloyd's List, about the wider implications of the Strait of Hormuz being in “utter chaos”, how ships are increasingly going dark to avoid detection, and China’s role in everything.  Highlights * David Blair and Akhtar Makoii discuss whether the Iran war will restart * Why the Strait of Hormuz being in “utter chaos” matters for everyone CONTRIBUTORS: Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant David Blair, chief foreign affairs commentator @davidblairdt Akhtar Makoii, foreign correspondent @akhtar_makoii CONTENT REFERENCED: Connor Stringer: ‘It’s all a giant clusterf---’: Inside Trump’s floundering Iran peace process [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/04/21/white-house-iran-trump-war/] Akhtar Makoii: Iran’s real negotiator is staring Trump down from the shadows [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/21/irans-real-negotiator-is-staring-trump-down-shadows/] David Blair: Trump’s flip-flopping will only embolden Iran to harden its demands [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/22/trump-flip-flopping-embolden-iran-harden-demands/] Hormuz chaos shows Iran is too fractured to speak with one voice [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/19/hormuz-strait-iran-too-fractured-to-speak-with-one-voice/] 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 battlelines@telegraph.co.uk  [https://open.acast.com/networks/65719504ffda880012bd81a4/shows/6583019ebbd71a00175001c8/episodes/battlelines@telegraph.co.uk%C2%A0] ► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/ [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.