The Iran war has stretched the US Congress to breaking point and exposed Pete Hegseth’s leadership of the Pentagon as fundamentally lacking, according to an ex-tank commander who is neither a Republican nor a Democrat.

On today’s bonus episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to Todd Achilles, a US veteran of the First Gulf War who is running as an independent for Senate in Idaho. With the November midterm elections just weeks away, Achilles’ battle against Republican stalwart Jim Risch is a window into the problems facing the GOP as Donald Trump’s Iran war leads to rising fuel prices and fertiliser shortages back home.

Is this the moment for a rise in independent military veteran candidates such as Achilles?

Highlights

• ‘We lost 15 bases - Hegseth is unfit for duty’
• US tank commander Todd Achilles on Iran war failures and running for Senate

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey

Todd Achilles, US Senate Idaho candidate @Achilles4Idaho

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Green Beret leads ‘double haters’ in mission to blow up midterms

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2026/10/05/rhodes-scholar-green-beret-end-two-party-politics-montana/

US midterm elections 2026: How do they work and what could they mean for Trump?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/10/16/us-midterm-elections-2026/

Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Bronze Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026

Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026

Nominated Podcast of the Year - London Press Club Awards 2026

The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Producers: Peter Shevlin and Max Bower

Researcher and Social Producer: Anna Hindmarsh

Studio Operator: Andy Watson

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/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new report exposes how pinpoint strikes by Iran and its proxies hit at least 84 Gulf infrastructure targets a total of 135 times, systematically disabling key infrastructure throughout the war.

On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Sophia Yan speaks to national security editor Rozina Sabur and Iranian terrorism specialist Roger Macmillan about the widening scope of Tehran's hybrid warfare, from the Middle East to Europe.

They unpack how the IRGC is weaponising criminal networks to orchestrate hit squads and sabotage operations on Western soil - including a growing number of foiled terror plots targeting military and Jewish sites in the UK. MI5’s boss this week issued a rare warning - but is anyone paying attention?

Plus, Houthi ballistic missiles kill five at the presidential palace in the port city of Aden, and how US President Donald Trump is balancing escalating nuclear strike options ahead of the US midterm elections - and why it could make Iran more dangerous.

Highlights

• How pinpoint Iranian strikes smashed up the Gulf’s key sites
• IRGC’s terror network across Europe exposed

CONTRIBUTORS:

Sophia Yan, co-host and senior foreign correspondent @sophia_yan

Rozina Sabur, national security editor @RozinaSabur

Roger Macmillan, former Director of Security at Iran International TV @Rogermacmillan

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Iran-backed Houthis on brink of taking Taiz in massive blow to Saudi Arabia

https://youtu.be/cSyCHTlh9Vo?si=nWqBqSjpqgOa2Ixp

Iran’s precision strikes picked apart Gulf infrastructure, blunting US war plans

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/iran-crisis-infrastructure-attacks/

Iran’s terrifying global campaign of revenge – and how it targets enemies

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/27/irans-terrifying-revenge-countries-that-oppose-it/

Teenage assassin sent to Britain by Iranian proxy jailed for 20 years

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10/16/teenage-assassin-sent-to-britain-by-iranian-proxy-jailed/

Migrant who ‘planned UK terror attack’ claimed asylum in Germany

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10/03/israel-anti-semitism-iran-ahmadyan-salehi/

Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Bronze Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026

Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026

Nominated Podcast of the Year - London Press Club Awards 2026

The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Producers: Peter Shevlin and Max Bower

Researcher and Social Producer: Anna Hindmarsh

Studio Operator: Andy Watson

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/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iran has sunk two cargo vessels in under 24 hours in the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the war began in March.

On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair about why Tehran is expanding its pace of attacks. So far the US has avoided a military response but how long can that last? Meanwhile, news that US President Donald Trump is considering using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb - aka the “mother of all bombs”.

Plus, the Iran-backed Houthis have encircled Yemen’s Taiz and are on the cusp of taking the strategic city for the first time in the war in what would be a major blow to Saudi Arabia.

Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen, a Yemeni senior researcher from the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, explains why the Houthis are so desperate to capture Taiz as a stepping-stone to oil-rich Marib and port city Aden and how it could take just “days” to fall. With around a million people trapped inside and news of food and medicine shortages, a humanitarian disaster is looming and Iran’s proxy group is on the brink of a major victory.

Highlights

• Iran sinks two ships in Strait of Hormuz as attacks escalate
• Houthis ‘days’ from taking Yemen’s key city of Taiz

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey

David Blair, chief foreign affairs commentator @davidblairdt

Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen from the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies @maysaashujaa

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Iran hits six oil tankers in single day

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/10/13/iran-hits-six-oil-tankers-day-hormuz-war-america-trump/

Trump lines up ‘mother of all bombs’ to strike Iran

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/10/15/trump-mother-of-all-bombs-strike-iran-moab/

Houthis on brink of taking their biggest scalp

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/10/13/houthis-on-brink-of-seizing-their-biggest-scalp/

Con Coughlin: The Houthis are Europe’s problem

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10/15/houthis-are-europe-problem/

Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Bronze Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026

Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026

Nominated Podcast of the Year - London Press Club Awards 2026

The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Producers: Peter Shevlin and Max Bower

Researcher and Social Producer: Anna Hindmarsh

Studio Operator: Andy Watson

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/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.