Two weeks in: A US Marine on Iran’s plan to win

An episode of the Iran: The Latest podcast, hosted by The Telegraph, titled "Two weeks in: A US Marine on Iran’s plan to win" was published on March 13, 2026 and runs 51 minutes.

March 13, 2026 ·51m · Iran: The Latest

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Summary

From Iran’s perspective, this war is going according to plan. Even though America and Israel have dominated the battlefield, the regime has not collapsed, the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked, and the entire region is under pressure. Yet major questions remain over how many missiles they have left and how long they can stop major protests from erupting once again on the streets. Roland Oliphant is joined by The Telegraph’s chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair and foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii to discuss the conflict so far and answer listeners’ questions. Plus, Jonathan Hackett, a former Marine Corps interrogator, counterintelligence agent, and special operations intelligence officer, returns to give his assessment of the past two weeks, discuss the Israeli covert ops taking place on the ground, and look at where things might go from here. CONTRIBUTORS:Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphantDavid Blair, chief foreign affairs commentator @davidblairdtAkhtar Makoii, foreign correspondent @akhtar_makoiiJonathan HackettCONTENT REFERENCED:Mojtaba Khamenei has called for Iranian unity – but he may not be alivehttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/13/mojtaba-khamenei-uniting-iran-against-trump-may-not-alive/David Blair: Iran’s leaders have every reason to believe they’re succeedinghttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/12/irans-leaders-every-reason-believe-succeeding/Producer: Sophie O'SullivanExecutive Producer: 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.

Episode Description

Roland Oliphant is joined by The Telegraph’s chief foreign affairs commentator David Blair and foreign correspondent Akhtar Makoii to discuss the conflict so far and answer listeners’ questions.

Plus, Jonathan Hackett, a former Marine Corps interrogator, counterintelligence agent, and special operations intelligence officer, returns to give his assessment of the past two weeks, discuss the Israeli covert ops taking place on the ground, and look at where things might go from here.

CONTRIBUTORS:

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

David Blair, chief foreign affairs commentator @davidblairdt

Akhtar Makoii, foreign correspondent @akhtar_makoii

Jonathan Hackett

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Mojtaba Khamenei has called for Iranian unity – but he may not be alive

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/13/mojtaba-khamenei-uniting-iran-against-trump-may-not-alive/

David Blair: Iran’s leaders have every reason to believe they’re succeeding

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/12/irans-leaders-every-reason-believe-succeeding/

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: 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.