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/

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/

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & Louisa Wells

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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 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

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/

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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

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 for more information.