A trip to the Strait of Hormuz & Hezbollah adopts Ukraine-style drone warfare

29 Apr 2026 · 37 min

Episode A trip to the Strait of Hormuz & Hezbollah adopts Ukraine-style drone warfare

0:00 37:09

From the Strait of Hormuz to Lebanon, the Iran war has seen the West’s foes adopt asymmetric warfare with growing efficacy.

Fresh off the boat from the Omani side of the Strait, Adrian Blomfield joins Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant. He explains how being out on the busy, misty and historic waterway helped him to understand why it is almost impossible for the US to counter Iran’s so-called “mosquito” fleet of fast boats.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem correspondent Henry Bodkin discusses the growing threat posed by Hezbollah as it adopts Ukrainian drone tactics to fight Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. He talks through a particularly worrying video showing the terror group flying a fibre-optic first-person view (FPV) drone at a medivac helicopter.

Plus, Venetia and Roland run through the latest updates from today, including Donald Trump’s new threat to Iran and bad signs from the Iranian economy.

Highlights:

• Adrian Blomfield on his trip to the Strait of Hormuz • Henry Bodkin on the growing threat posed by Hezbollah as it adopts Ukrainian drone tactics

CONTRIBUTORS:

Venetia Rainey, co-host @venetiarainey

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

Adrian Blomfield, senior foreign correspondent @adrianblomfield

Henry Bodkin, Jerusalem correspondent @HenryBodkin

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Hezbollah attacks Israeli military helicopter with fibre optic drones

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/28/hezbollah-attack-israeli-idf-helicopter-fibre-optic-drones/

Adrian Blomfield: Here in the Strait, Iran’s mosquito fleet renders Trump blockade futile

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/28/strait-of-hormuz-irans-mosquito-fleet-winning-blockade/

Akhtar Makoii: Iran’s cost of living is out of control as Trump’s blockade takes hold

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/29/irans-cost-of-living-trump-blockade/

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & Louisa Wells

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