President Donald Trump needs more than $65bn in urgent funding for the Pentagon as a result of the Iran war, a stark reminder of the cost to America’s military. Amid a munitions crunch, the defense industrial base is being told to go faster - and the US’ adversaries are taking note.

In today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Venetia Rainey sits down with Dana Stroul, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East and now director of research at the Washington Institute.

She delivers a blunt assessment of the conflict's fallout, why lopsided sanctions relief has handed Tehran an economic windfall, and how the war has severely strained America’s Gulf alliances. Plus, they discuss new reports that an advanced Iranian "jellyfish" drone formation successfully brought down a US F-15 fighter jet back in April.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey

Dana Stroul, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Middle East and research director Washington Institute @dstroul

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

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Iran was using ‘jellyfish’ swarm of drones, reports downed F-15 pilot

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/06/23/f-15-pilot-shot-down-over-iran-saw-jellyfish-swarm-of-drone/

Dana Stroul: How the Iran War Will Transform America’s Military Role

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/middle-east-power-paradox-dana-stroul

Producer: Max Bower and Rachel Porter

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/

Highlights

• US facing weapons shortage - can Trump fix it?
• Did Iran down a US fighter jet with a secret new drone weapon?

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The war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah remains a major sticking point in US-Iran peace talks - but Donald Trump has a controversial solution.

At the G7 summit, he said he wants Syria to militarily intervene in their neighbour and disarm the Iranian proxy by force. Sophia Yan is joined by Ahmad Sharawi, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies to discuss why Damascus has flatly rejected the plan. From the dark history of Syria’s occupation of Lebanon to the potential for a proxy war between Turkey and Israel, he outlines how such a move could seriously backfire.

Plus, the latest news from the region including the row over Iran letting in nuclear inspectors from the IAEA and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's high-stakes warnings on the Strait of Hormuz.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Sophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent @sophia_yan

Ahmad Sharawi, senior research analyst FDD @AhmadA_Sharawi

Producer: Max Bower and Rachel Porter

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/

Highlights

• ‘Creative but wrong’: Trump’s plan for Syria to attack Hezbollah
• Plus, a row over Iran letting in nuclear inspectors from the IAEA

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Iran has unveiled a plan to impose stealth fees on the Strait of Hormuz, using an insurance loophole to keep exacting tolls out of the key waterway post-war.

Telegraph senior foreign correspondent Adrian Blomfield joins Roland Oliphant to break down how the conflict has permanently disrupted the global balance of power, from disrupting the US pivot to Asia to breaking US-Israeli ties.

Plus, they take a moment to consider how the past four months will reverberate in the years to come and ask: what would Herodotus, the first historian of a Persian war, make of it all?

Highlights

• Iran’s secret plan to keep control of the Strait of Hormuz
• How Trump’s greatest foreign policy failure reshaped the world

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

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant

Adrian Blomfield, senior foreign correspondent @adrianblomfield

CONTENT REFERENCED:

How Trump’s greatest foreign policy failure has reshaped the world

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/22/trumps-greatest-foreign-policy-failure-reshaped-world/

Has the US-Israel relationship changed forever?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/20/has-the-us-israel-relationship-changed-forever/

Producers: Max Bower and 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.