The drumbeat of war in the Middle East is getting louder - and once again it’s Iran in America’s crosshairs.

A second round of talks over Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons programme ended this week without a deal. In the last few days, dozens of American fighter jets and refuelling tankers have joined the US's two carrier strike groups in the region. This is now the largest American military buildup in the Middle East since the Iraq war in 2003.

Venetia chats to Henry Bodkin, The Telegraph's Jerusalem correspondent, and Roland Oliphant, chief foreign affairs analyst about when war might break out and how it could unfold.

Plus Roland speaks to Maryam Mazrooei, an Iranian journalist and war photographer who fled the country after being arrested and imprisoned in 2022, about whether American-led regime change would spark a civil war in Iran.

Read - Trump sends fighter jet squadron to ‘kick the door down’ in Iran: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/02/18/us-military-aircraft-heading-towards-iran/

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

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