As the US-Iran ceasefire officially expires and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, is Donald Trump considering using nuclear weapons to break the war stalemate?
On today’s episode of Iran: The Latest, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant discuss why US politician Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bizarre nuclear claim may be less crazy than it first appears and how an underground nuclear facility at Pickaxe Mountain could be the potential target. They also look at the state of the war 60 days on from the ill-fated Memorandum of Understanding peace deal and why Iran is more bullish than ever.
Meanwhile, US envoy Jared Kushner is in Israel to talk to Benjamin Netanyahu about Trump’s Gaza peace deal after meeting with Hamas’ leader in Egypt. Jerusalem correspondent Henry Bodkin in the West Bank explains why and discusses his dispatch from the West Bank amid a rise in military operations and settler “terrorism”.
Plus, Iran’s missing pilots, the Houthis strike again in the Red Sea and why the Iran war has prompted Trump to scale back key US-South Korea military drills.
Highlights
- US ‘weighing nuclear attack on Iran’, claims Marjorie Taylor Greene
- Why Trump has scaled back key US-South Korea military drills
CHAPTERS:
00:00:04 - Iran War 60-Day Peace Deal Deadline Expires
00:01:19 - Strait of Hormuz Transit Collapses Amid MoU Failure
00:05:42 - White House Contemplates Nuclear Options for Deep Iranian Bunkers
00:10:05 - Special Forces Operation Options Considered for Enriched Uranium
00:13:40 - US Pentagon Shifts Toward Tactical Nuclear Weapons Strategy
00:15:38 - Trump Reduces Freedom Shield Joint Military Drills with South Korea
00:19:22 - Iran Mystery Sukhoi Su-24 Air Strike on US Base in Qatar
00:20:47 - Middle East Escalation: Kurdistan Drone Strikes & Red Sea Attacks
00:24:47 - Jared Kushner & Tony Blair Lead Gaza Decommissioning Peace Talks
00:30:45 - West Bank Dispatch: Settler Siege and IDF Refugee Camp Raids
CONTRIBUTORS:
Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey
Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant
Henry Bodkin, Jerusalem correspondent @HenryBodkin
WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk
CONTENT REFERENCED:
The beaten and bruised ‘political pawns’ caught up in Israel’s election
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/08/17/beaten-and-bruised-political-pawns-israeli-election/
Israeli settlers in West Bank siege are terrorists, US says
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/08/14/us-denounces-israeli-settlers-as-terrorists-west-bank-siege/
Israeli army surrounds last Christian town in West Bank
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/08/12/israeli-army-surrounds-last-christian-town-in-west-bank/
Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026
Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026
Nominated Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026
The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026
Audio Producer: Joleen Goffin
Video Producer: Max Bower and Elliott Daly
Researcher and Social Producer: Anna Hindmarsh
Studio Operator: Andy Watson
Executive Producer: Venetia Rainey
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