Show Notes
A landmark Pentagon report has exposed the devastating cost of the Iran war for the US military: 59 aircraft damaged or destroyed, bases struck across the Middle East, and critical missile stockpiles depleted for up to 5 years.
On today’s episode of Iran: the Latest, Venetia Rainey speaks to former Defense and State Department insider Kori Schake, now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. She unpicks how the report lays bare the underpreparedness of Donald Trump’s administration for Iran’s precision missile attacks on key US assets. They also discuss how the toll of the war has created a critical window of vulnerability that China could exploit in the Pacific if it wanted to seize Taiwan.
Plus, Anthropic’s new threat report reveals how Iran and the Houthis are using Claude AI to finetune weapons and target the US Navy, Trump goes behind Saudi Arabia’s back to make a secret deal with the Yemeni militants over the Red Sea, and will Pete Hegseth be impeached?
PIC CREDIT: CBS
Highlights
Pentagon exposes mass US aircraft losses and base damage from Iran war Trump makes secret deal with the Houthis over the Red Sea
CONTRIBUTORS: Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey Kori Schake, director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute @KoriSchake
WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk
CONTENT REFERENCED: Houthis claim to have shot down Saudi fighter jet https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/16/houthis-claim-downing-of-saudi-fighter-jet/
Akhtar Makoii: Four ways the Houthis became a major military power https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/17/four-ways-houthis-major-military-power-yemen-iran-weapons/
US committed war crimes in Iran school strike, say UN experts https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/09/17/us-committed-war-crimes-iran-school-strike-experts/
CBS: New photos show widespread damage at U.S. positions caused by Iranian missile, drone attacks https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-photos-damage-u-s-kuwait-saudi-arabia-iran-drone-missile-attacks/
LEAD INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON OPERATION EPIC FURY https://media.defense.gov/2026/Sep/09/2003993626/-1/-1/1/OEF_Q3_JUN2026_FINAL_508%20SECURE.PDF
Anthropic: Detecting and countering misuse of AI - September 2026 https://www-cdn.anthropic.com/e50be2e51e7695dc4b1366a37a245a597377d3b5/Anthropic-Detecting-and-countering-091026.pdf
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: Peter Shevlin Video Producer: 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 [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.
More from Iran: The Latest
Further details have emerged regarding US-Israeli plans for a joint military campaign against Iran after the midterm elections. Following sightings of Israeli Air Force jets flying up to the Iranian border on Monday, plans for a three-day military blitz on Iran’s nuclear facilities and energy infrastructure were revealed to the New York Times.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed his military to plan a multi-day bombing campaign targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and power grids, as talks with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signal preparation for joint military action against Iran.
British RAF Typhoon fighter jets will be deployed to defend cities and critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, following the Yemen-based militant group’s deadliest attack yet, a devastating assault that killed at least 70 people, all new recruits aged 18 to 20, at a training camp.
Houthi ballistic missile strikes kill 20 people in Yemen as Egypt considers sending military support to help Saudi Arabia counter Iranian threats in the Red Sea.
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.