Iran demands $24bn to sign US peace deal - will Trump accept?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Iran: The Latest

Episode Title: Iran demands $24bn to sign US peace deal – will Trump accept?
Date: May 27, 2026
Hosts: Venetia Rainey, Roland Oliphant (The Telegraph)
Guests: Akhtar Mukoi (Foreign Correspondent), Candice Ardeel (UNIFIL Spokesperson), David Knowles

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Overview

This episode examines the latest twists in the high-stakes negotiations between Iran and the US over ending the ongoing war, focusing on Iran’s demand for the unfreezing of $24 billion in assets as part of a potential peace deal. Key developments include the partial restoration of the Internet in Iran, debates over who in Tehran holds real decision-making power, the impact and extension of wartime censorship, and updates from southern Lebanon amid escalating Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities with insights from UN peacekeepers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Iran's $24 Billion Demand in Peace Talks

[01:05 - 04:46]

• The Heart of Negotiations: Iran is demanding $24 billion out of $100–120 billion in frozen overseas assets as a key condition to sign any peace deal with the United States.

  • “In this particular case, the Iranians are demanding $24 billion of their frozen assets. And they condition that, ok, we are going to sign a deal, whatever the deal is, but we need $12 billion while we're signing that memorandum of understanding and another 12 billion 60 days later.” – Akhtar Mukoi [02:38]

• What the US and Iran Want:

  • Iran’s conditions: End to war on all fronts (notably Lebanon), complete lifting of sanctions, compensation for war damages, and release of all frozen funds.
  • US demands: No payment for war compensation, surrender of 450kg of 60% enriched uranium, restriction to only one operational nuclear site (Bushehr, Russian-run), and ceasefire only if negotiations continue.
  • “The main point of a standoff… is like this $24 billion.” – Akhtar Mukoi [03:45]

• Global Spread of Iranian Assets:

  • The assets are frozen in banks worldwide: South Korea, Qatar, Iraq, Japan, Luxembourg, Bahrain, Turkey, Germany. Trade with some countries (India, Russia, China) is ongoing via alternative payment methods, but Western and Arab countries are blocked by US sanctions.

2. Cultural Interlude: Pistachios and Iranian Life

[05:29 - 06:56]

• Lighthearted discussion about pistachios, a major Iranian export, hits on economic details and cultural etiquette — notably the prominence of pistachios at festive gatherings, their expense, and regional significance (notably Rafsanjan in Kerman province).

3. Internet Blackout Lifted in Iran

[07:04 - 12:16]

• Historic Blackout:
  • “2093 hours of complete Internet blackout, never seen anywhere else in human history.” – Akhtar Mukoi [07:35]
• Partial Restoration:
  • Connectivity gradually returning, with continuing blocks on key services (WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram). Wikipedia and some news sites accessible; limited circumvention possible.
• Internal Debate & Politics:
  • Blackout lifted after dispute between president, judiciary, and hardliner MPs; concern about control of information and risk of unrest drove both the blackout and its partial lifting.
  • Economic costs: “More than 10 million people in Iran have internet-related works and around $14 million, $35 million were being lost every day when the Internet was off. So people are fed up.” – Akhtar Mukoi [09:39]
• Ongoing Restrictions & Expectations:
  • Uncertainty about whether new controls (reportedly using Chinese technology) will become permanent, with reference to the potential creation of a “Chinese-style great firewall.”

4. Factional Politics and Regime Dynamics in Iran

[12:16 - 14:53]

• Vacuum of Trust & Hardliner Tactics:
  • Discussion of internal splits: The Paidari (Steadfastness) Front, with figures like Saeed Jalili, opposes negotiations, seeing any deal as a sellout.
  • “They do influence things, but not as much as it would have an impact on decision making.” – Akhtar Mukoi [13:18]
• Overarching Consensus:
  • Still, the political establishment and the regime at large — despite factional resistance — appear to recognize the need for a deal.
  • “They do want a deal. Because they need a deal.” – Akhtar Mukoi [15:13]

5. Leadership and Information Warfare

[15:18 - 16:00]

• Uncertainty over Khamenei’s Successor:
  • Skepticism about AI-edited images of Moshtabak Khamenei, his son, circulated after the death of the Supreme Leader and much of his family. State media silence is telling.

6. Breaking: Draft Framework for US-Iran Peace

[16:16 - 18:36]

• Reported Terms (Per Iranian state media):

  • US to lift the naval blockade and stop harassing shipping.
  • Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial (but not military) shipping within a month; Iran to retain right to inspect and toll shipping lanes.
  • US troop withdrawal from the Gulf vicinity.
  • 60-day negotiation period before final UN Security Council action.

• Skepticism:

  • “Please note that I have not anywhere there mentioned uranium or other nuclear issues. It simply doesn't feature in this document that the Iranians have put out. Make of it what you will.” – David Knowles [18:22]

7. On the Ground in Lebanon: Escalation and Humanitarian Impact

[20:42 - 35:42]

Interview with Candice Ardeel, Spokesperson for UNIFIL

• Renewed Hostilities:

  • “We've seen a significant escalation in the last few days… Peacekeepers are observing an increased amount of activities in the south, including airstrikes, drone activity, even clashes.” – Candice Ardeel [20:42]
  • Recent Israeli strikes hit over 100 Hezbollah sites; at least 31 Lebanese killed in a single day, including children.

• Hezbollah’s Tactics:

  • Hezbollah using “Ukraine-style drone warfare with growing success,” triggering Israeli escalation.

• Peacekeepers in Danger:

  • Six UNIFIL peacekeepers killed since the war’s escalation, by both sides.
  • “We’ve had to limit the number of patrols… we’re not able to see the extent of the territory, of what’s happening, of the violations because of that limitation.” – Candice Ardeel [24:24]

• Devastation of Southern Lebanon:

  • Large-scale destruction of villages, mass displacement:
    • “We've seen the landscape in some places completely changed, vegetation removed, burned… Many of the villages have just been completely devastated, again, including Nakura right next to our headquarters…” [27:01]
  • Targeting patterns:
    • “I raise my eyebrows as to whether every single home… could have been considered terrorist infrastructure… we’re seeing the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods of villages, that should raise a lot of concerns.” [28:54]

• Civilians and Mood:

  • Widespread hardship and displacement among Lebanese UN staff and communities.
  • Concerns about a return to civil war, but current focus is on ending hostilities and upholding UN Resolution 1701.

• Context on the “Blue Line” and UNIFIL Mandate:

  • The Blue Line is the UN-demarcated line of Israeli withdrawal, not an internationally recognized border.
  • UNIFIL’s mission is under review and set to expire at the end of 2026, with future options to be discussed at the UN Security Council.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Trust is an invaluable currency, but it's in short supply."
  – Roland Oliphant, distilling the fragmented Iranian political landscape [12:16]

• On Internet Blackout:
  “2093 hours of complete Internet blackout, never seen anywhere else in human history.” – Akhtar Mukoi [07:35]

• On UNIFIL’s Challenges:
  “We’re able to do… our duties under Resolution 1701, but not in the same way that we were before. Which is not to say that the work is not valuable, but it’s not as complete…” – Candice Ardeel [24:24]

• On Destruction in Lebanon:
  "I raise my eyebrows as to whether every single home… could have been considered terrorist infrastructure." – Candice Ardeel [28:54]

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Important Timestamps

• [01:05] – Opening of discussion on Iran peace deal demands
• [02:38] – Akhtar Mukoi details $24 billion demand
• [03:49] – Breakdown of US and Iranian demands
• [07:04] – Internet blackout in Iran lifted; impact and rationale
• [12:16] – Analysis of internal Iranian politics and “vacuum of trust”
• [16:16] – Breaking news: Alleged draft peace framework outlined
• [20:42] – Detailed UNIFIL update from southern Lebanon: escalation, humanitarian impact
• [28:54] – Ardeel raises concerns about systematic targeting of villages
• [31:48] – Background on UNIFIL, the Blue Line, and peacekeeping legacy

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Tone & Style

• The episode balances sober, detailed reporting and expert analysis with occasional lighter cultural notes, with correspondents weaving in facts, context, and a touch of dry humor.
• The tone remains focused, careful, and sometimes skeptical (especially about official claims from both Iranian and US sides).

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Summary

This episode delivers comprehensive analysis on the current Iran-US peace negotiations, highlighting Iran’s significant financial demands, the complexity of reaching a meaningful deal, and the impact of information control within Iran. The latter half shifts focus to Lebanon, revealing escalating violence and its toll on civilians and UN peacekeepers as regional instability widens. Perspectives are well-sourced, critical, and vividly illustrated by those on the ground.

For listeners seeking to understand the latest in the Iran conflict, shifting US policy, power dynamics in Tehran, and the on-the-ground realities in southern Lebanon, this episode is essential, clear, and unflinching.

Transcript

[Candice Ardeel]

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[Roland Oliphant]

Do you think that the Islamic Republic's establishment want a deal or they don't want to deal? They don't want a deal. What's the move?

[Akhtar Mukoi]

They want a deal.

[Roland Oliphant]

They do want a deal.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

They do want a deal because they need a deal.

[Venetia Rainey]

A short time ago, the United States

[Akhtar Mukoi]

military began major combat operations in Iran.

[Candice Ardeel]

Today, President Trump says Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the attacks.

[David Knowles]

The Pentagon is weighing a takeover of that island as a way to force

[Akhtar Mukoi]

the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

[Candice Ardeel]

Iran begged for this ceasefire and we all know it.

[Roland Oliphant]

Does anyone really think that someone can

[Akhtar Mukoi]

tell President Trump what to do?

[Roland Oliphant]

Come on.

[Venetia Rainey]

I'm Venetia Rainey.

[Roland Oliphant]

And I'm Roland Oliphant.

[Venetia Rainey]

And this is Iran. The latest. It's Wednesday, 27th of May, 2026. We are 89 days since the war began and 49 days since the ceasefire was declared. First, a quick correction. I said yesterday that we'll be marking 100 days of war next Monday. It's actually June 8th, so the Monday after. Apologies for any confusion. Thank you so much to everyone who's written in with thoughts about what you would like to see us cover after we start to broaden out from the Iran conflict. Please do keep them coming in. You can write to us on battlelinestelegraph.co.uk you can find our social media handles in the show notes or you can leave a comment underneath this episode. On with today's show, I'm joined in the studio by Akhtar Mukoi, Foreign correspondent Akhtar, welcome back onto Iran. The latest we were talking yesterday about Iranian assets being unfrozen as part of this peace deal they're trying to reach. We've now got a number for that 24 billion and really quite large number. How have we arrived at that?

[Akhtar Mukoi]

It's not like A big number if you compare it to the Iranian economy and the amount of oil they are selling every day. And then they are not getting paid for it because those foreign banks are not transacting any money with the Iranian banks due to sanctions. On Monday, Chief Negotiator Mohammad Barreira Galipoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbasar Akchi flew to Doha. In Qatar, unexpectedly, Iranians didn't know. We got to know this through foreign media. The main topic of discussion in Qatar, it wasn't nuclear enrichment, it wasn't asylum. It was the assets, the frozen assets of Iran outside the country, which it totals around 100 to 120 billion. Includes properties, money, gold, anything. But in this particular case, the Iranians are demanding $24 billion of their frozen assets. And they condition that, okay, we are going to sign a deal, whatever the deal is, but we need $12 billion while we're signing that memorandum of understanding and another 12 billion 60 days later.

[Roland Oliphant]

List the American and the Iranian demands then Akhtar.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

Iran's condition for a broader peace agreement include a deal that would end the war on all fronts, particularly in Lebanon, which Israel is bombing this morning, lifting all sanctions, releasing frozen funds, providing compensation for war damages and recognizing Iranian sovereign your the straits are for most and the other side of the table, American ones, they say they are not going to pay for the war compensation. They want the uranian enriched uranium, 450 kilogram of 60% enriched uranium. And they are saying they are allowing Iran to have only one nuclear site which you can guess is the nuclear Bushe nuclear site, which is run by the Russians and also a ceasefire conditional on continued negotiations. So these are the main points, but at the moment, as we're talking the main point of a standoff like the main thing that they are discussing is like this $24 billion.

[Roland Oliphant]

The 24 is only roughly a quarter of the 100 billion assets that are frozen. I was just reading your article from yesterday. Whereabouts are these assets? Because they're all around the world, aren't they?

[Akhtar Mukoi]

Yeah, they are all around the world. They are in South Korea, they are in Qatar, Iraq, Japan, Luxembourg, Bahrain, Turkey, Germany. Very, very wrong. Could send anything, like export anything, whether it's oil, pistachios, nabot, anything. They would sell it to them, but they can't get the money. I mean, the Indians and the Russians would. And the Chinese would pay them with teeth, sometimes in cash in yuan, but in other countries, like in European countries or those Arab countries, they would buy the staff and they wouldn't be able to Pay them. Because if they would pay them, they would be sanctions by America.

[Venetia Rainey]

I think we should unfreeze the pistachios and serve everyone pistachio ice cream. No. Okay. But on a serious note, pistachios are one of Iran's biggest exports. Right.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

The word pistachio is coming from Persian. It's peste.

[Roland Oliphant]

Pistachios. How important are they to Persian cuisine?

[Akhtar Mukoi]

Very much. It's not like you won't use it mainly in cuisines. You would have it today, for example, it's Eid, Eid Adhavir. People would get sheep killed. And then when you go to someone's house in both countries, Iran and Afghanistan, there would be a table. Pistachios are there. And you are advised by your parents not to eat pistachios because they're expensive. Just go there, get one and go home because you don't want to be looking like, oh, this guy, this family came in, they're only eating pistachios, the most expensive one. Why? They are not eating seeds or nuts or anything.

[Roland Oliphant]

Oh, you'd be a very bad guess if you went and just munched all the pistachios. And is there a particular pistachio growing region of Iran?

[Akhtar Mukoi]

Yeah, of course. In Rafsanjan. We are actually. Hashemi Rafsanjani used to live his hometown. And he had his family is why they are rich, because they have too much pistachios garden.

[Roland Oliphant]

Just remind us who Mr. Rafsanjani is.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

Mr. Rafsanjani was the president during the Iraq Iran war in that area. He was Iran's second president. Third president. He died in 2016 after he was disqualified for running for president.

[Roland Oliphant]

Very interesting. Where is that region in southern Iran, in the south.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

In the south?

[Roland Oliphant]

In Kerman province, on the coast with the Persian Gulf or Asia?

[Akhtar Mukoi]

No, you go a little bit up,

[Roland Oliphant]

a little bit up.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

And that's the main route of smuggling drugs to Europe too, coming from Afghanistan, going through Kerman. And that's where that British couple were arrested.

[Venetia Rainey]

Okay, back to today's news. What we really wanted to talk to you about is the fact that the Internet has been lifted. And this has been the longest nationwide Internet blackout ever in modern history. Really, really hugely significant. I was looking at NetBlocks this morning and they say, very sweet. Welcome back. Iran metrics show a further rise in connectivity as mobile networks and other segments are reconnected to the Global intern. But FileNet remains in place, can be worked around. WhatsApp is now restricted and requires circumvention. Some users still offline what have you found when you've been trying to connect to friends, family, contacts this morning the

[Akhtar Mukoi]

messaging app are still not working. The social media were already blocked before the war, even before they imposed the blackout. As you said, it's 2093 hours of complete Internet blackout, never seen anywhere else in human history. But yesterday, when they were lifting the blackout, it was a dramatic decision, like the whole Iranian politics was involved in it. The president issued an order, okay, now is the time so we can partially and slowly lift the blackout. An hour later, a body, a judicial body intervened and said told the president, no, you cannot do it because there are people who are opposing it. Some MPs saying this is if you lift it, it would be create some national security concerns, some sorts of problems. An hour after that, the judiciary itself intervened again saying, you this body, Diwan e Dalat Edari, you stay away from it. The President can go with your order. And first was just Wikipedia working today, like you can have access to some Iranian news website this morning that you could not have access to yesterday. And messaging apps are still not working. I was told IMO a Chinese app is working without a vpn, but it's not like a complete Internet access. It's partial and very slow. I think there were four reasons to lift the black out. First, I think inside the Islamic Republic there is some optimism that there might be a deal or there might not be another attack by the Americans. So they say, okay, now we are safe. So no people would be sending information outside the country that would make a place, someone a target. So there is a sort of optimism in here. The other reason is so they are now sure that there won't be any

[Roland Oliphant]

uprising because one of the reasons for the Internet shutdown was to prevent networking by opposition forces to create a street uprising. Okay. So they feel like the war might end. They feel like they're safe from street

[Akhtar Mukoi]

uprisings and they fear that if they keep it going there would be an uprising. Just Remember, more than 10 million people in Iran have Internet related works and around $14 million, $35 million were being lost every day when the Internet was off. So people are fed up. Yeah. So there were reasons that people like the administration, at least President Pezeshkin administration would want to lift the blockade and let the people connect to Internet. There are still people, mainly those MPs who are close to Paidari fronts, Ali those kind of people that they are still opposing it because they see it as a national threat for people to have access to international media because for now like, for months, many people would get their own information only from state television. And they don't want them to have access to news that's from independent organizations.

[Venetia Rainey]

Have we seen videos, pictures, stories being posted that give us new information about the impact of the war on the ground in Iran?

[Akhtar Mukoi]

Not yet, because there is a very partial and slow Internet connectivity so far. I was speaking with someone, he said, like he was surprised after getting connected, seeing those clips while they were being bombed. And some fellow countrymen in Europe or elsewhere in the world, they were dancing. While they were bombing, While they were being bombed. So that was one of the things that people are now getting to realize, like getting to know that diaspora Iranians. Yeah, some of them. While the nation inside the country was being bombed, somewhere out there, Iranians dancing on the street. So these are the things Iranians are now finding out slowly.

[Venetia Rainey]

Do you worry that the Internet, when it comes back and historically, whenever the Internet has been cut off, it comes back and it's more restricted. Do you think those restrictions will become more permanent? I've also seen reports that Chinese equipment is being brought in and they're trying to sort of build some kind of copy of the Chinese great firewall.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

There is always that concern. But for the war, Iranian government unblocked WhatsApp after I don't know how many years, four years. But now they left the blackout so they can. People now can get connected to partially to the Internet, but not WhatsApp. Yet Instagram was blocked already. Some most favorite social media app and in Iran. And lots of people are working in there. They're advertising the things they're producing. So we should see, like, if they would lift the ban on Instagram and WhatsApp and Telegram and these messaging apps. Last night, the only thing you could have access inside Iran was Wikipedia.

[Roland Oliphant]

So it's not really about websites, it's about apps. Just going back to what you were saying about who's in control in this dispute. You've written a really interesting analysis in today's paper in which you say, in Iran, trust is an invaluable currency, but it's in short supply. And you talk about the kind of vacuum of trust inside the country between various factions. I'm wondering if you could expand on that slightly, but also on what you said about the Paidari front. And the hard line is kind of trying to sabotage everything because they're so opposed to things. We've talked about the Paidari front for people like Saeed Jalili and. And I think in one episode, we dismissed Them as, as a bunch of losers who couldn't affect anything. But they do seem to be affecting things. So I'm just wondering, like, how do we square this? On the one hand, they're actually quite marginal, radical kind of fruitcakes, even in the Iranian context. On the other hand, they do seem to be able to gum up the system and to influence things.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

Yeah, they do influence things, but not as much as it would have an impact on decision making. There are 291 MPs in the Iranian Parliament. It was an online meeting, of course. There were 261, 60 people MPs. They signed a letter supporting the negotiations. Except seven MPs. MPs like Hamid Rasay, who are very close to Saeed Jalili and that paid Dari Front. They are trying their best these days to stop any deal.

[David Knowles]

Right.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

They see the whole situation that Iran won the war and now they are giving American concessions that would make Iran look as a loser.

[Roland Oliphant]

They say, okay, so basically we've won and these pathetic wishy washy woke establishment idiots like Mohammed Baga Gallabaef are gonna sell out our victory down the toilet by making concessions to the Americans. That's their view.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

That's their view. And there are also some generals inside the IRGC who are looking for, who want revenge for their dead colleagues.

[Roland Oliphant]

Right, okay. But I suppose the question then is you're saying they cam things up. I'm wondering whether it changes your assessment that they can't really block a deal being done, or do you think that actually, in general the push within the regime is towards some kind of deal and that they won't be able to disrupt it.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

They are trying to influence decision making, but if they can do it or they cannot do it, that's very, I would say, unlikely.

[Roland Oliphant]

We talk a lot about Donald Trump's intentions and I think we're kind of thinking that Donald Trump really wants a deal. He wants to put this to bed and so on. Very quickly, in one word, do you think that the, the Islamic Republic's establishments want a deal or they don't want a deal? What's the move?

[Akhtar Mukoi]

They want a deal.

[Roland Oliphant]

They do want a deal.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

They do want a deal. Because they need a deal.

[Roland Oliphant]

They need a deal. Okay, that's what I want to get to.

[Venetia Rainey]

There are some new pictures of Moshtabak Khamenei going around and I know there's been a lot of discussion about whether they've been AI edited. Right. Because we still haven't seen him in public. We don't know what condition he's in after those strikes that killed most of his family. I'm just reading something from a journalist at BBC Verify who says that one of the images, at least it's going round, does appear, appear to have been manipulated with AI taken from previous footage and had the background removed. What do you make of these pictures that are going around?

[Akhtar Mukoi]

If he was in public and if he was speaking for the first time, appearing in public for the first time, a state media won't be silent, wouldn't be silent. They would make very big deal out of it. And I have not seen any picture on the state media about it.

[Venetia Rainey]

Okay. So for now, no new proof of his condition or life from these pictures? No.

[Akhtar Mukoi]

Last thing you know, he was climbing the stairs and then the back home was bombed and he was blown out and then he had some injuries on his face, according to some people who were working inside the office of the Supreme Leader.

[Venetia Rainey]

Hakhra McCoy, foreign correspondent at the Telegraph, thanks very much for joining us on around the latest.

[David Knowles]

As we were recording this episode, a couple of updates came up that we wanted to keep listeners abreast of. Donald Trump is due to host the 12th cabinet meeting of his second term. So all of his allies and officials in one room. It was meant to be a camp day, but it's going to be at the White House. And overshadowing all of this is likely to be this huge question of how to end the war, the negotiations, what to give, what not to give. And simultaneously with this or just in advance of this, and I imagine something that will be mentioned in the White House is the draft of the alleged draft of an agreement that has been published by Iranian state media. So this is what Iranian state television is calling a draft framework deal with the United States that they say has not yet been finalized, but is a draft outline of a potential memorandum of understanding. And what it says, as far as we can tell, is that the United States will lift the naval blockade, cease harassing ships passing to or from the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in return, Iran will open the strait to commercial shipping just as it was before the war, within one month, according to the draft. Military ships are excluded from that. It significantly also claims that the draft says that Iran would continue to manage shipping lanes, inspect vessels and impose service fees on ships. I'm not sure I believe that the Americans are going to go with this, but this is what the Iranians are saying in public. It also says that US Troops are to be withdrawn from the Gulf region or from the vicinity of Iran. It says Washington has given the quotation. Here is a commitment to the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding this issue. Again, I put a big hefty red question mark next to that one. It says following this agreement, Tehran, Washington would enter a 60 day negotiation period and if a good negotiation switched a final agreement within that period, it would be put to the United Nations Security Council to be finalised in a binding resolution. Please note that I have not anywhere there mentioned uranium or other nuclear issues. It simply doesn't feature in this document that the Iranians have put out. Make of it what you will.

[Venetia Rainey]

We're going to take a short pause now. Coming up after the break, we're going inside southern Lebanon after Israel has stepped up its campaign against Hezbollah. Welcome back. You're listening to Iran. The latest now. Earlier this week, Israel announced that it was going to step up its military campaign against Hezbollah. In a speech on Monday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed we will deal them a crushing blow. And sure enough, yesterday, Israel pounded Lebanon with more than 120 airstrikes. It was one of the heaviest nights of bombardment since the ceasefire began in mid April between those two countries. At least 31 people were killed yesterday, including four children, according to Lebanon's health Ministry. The Israeli military said it hit more than 100 Hezbollah infrastructure sites. But some strikes hit near Lebanon's largest water reservoir, the Karaoun Dam in east Lebanon. You can see a video circulating online of an explosion in the water. Right. Dam. That's the Karun Dam. The dam is reported to be okay. There were also strikes near the 900-year-old medieval Beaufort Castle. A true bit of history in Lebanon. Now, as we've been speaking about repeatedly on the podcast, Hezbollah has been adopting this Ukraine style drone warfare tactics with growing success recently. And it's no coincidence that Netanyahu disorder came after the Israeli military said another soldier had been killed in combat over the weekend. That's the Israeli military's 23rd casualty since the conflict began on March 2. Just for context, Israeli strikes over the same period have killed at least three Lebanese people, although they don't distinguish between combatants and civilians. Now, very few journalists are able to report inside southern Lebanon at the moment due to the active hostilities. So I caught up with Candice Ardeel, the spokesperson for UNIFIL, the UN's peacekeeping force in the area. Here's our conversation. Candice, welcome to Iran. The latest. You're joining us now from Beirut. You're normally based in Nakora Naora, way down in southern Lebanon, just Tell us, what's it like there today? The Israelis have ramped up attacks. What's the situation been like over the last 24 hours?

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, we've seen a significant escalation in the last few days after a period where we had seen a lessening of violence following the agreement that had happened in the middle of April. So peacekeepers are observing an increased amount of activities in the south, including airstrikes, drone activity, even some clashes. So this is a concern for us. We're seeing the stability that we were trying to work back toward being eroded yet again. And nonetheless, peacekeepers are on the ground. We're continuing to monitor and report. We're in contact with both Lebanon and Israel to urge de escalation and to urge a reduction in tensions and try to. To get back to a situation where we can start again to work towards stability, because that's what's needed right now. We see in the south so much suffering, so much destruction from everything that

[Venetia Rainey]

we've heard, it's been a ceasefire in name only since the Israelis and Lebanese struck a ceasefire which has since been extended. Hezbollah has regularly been attacking Israeli troops both in southern Lebanon and firing projectiles over into northern Israel. And the Israelis have been bombing southern Lebanon, occasionally outside of southern Lebanon, and flattening villages and targeting Hezbollah operatives. What have you seen firsthand in terms of what you've been monitoring as a peacekeeper?

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, we've seen all of that. We've seen Hezbollah firing projectiles. We've seen the IDF firing projectiles back. We've seen airstrikes. We've seen drone strikes, including some that have hit in and near some of our bases, including our headquarters in Nakura, causing some damage.

[Venetia Rainey]

Is that drone strikes by Hezbollah or Israel?

[Candice Ardeel]

We believe that they were Hezbollah drones. Yes. That were probably targeting IDF activities in the area and ended up hitting our headquarters, some one inside and some nearby. So this is obviously a concern for us in terms of peacekeeper safety. We've already seen earlier in this conflict six peacekeepers killed, two in an incident that has been attributed to Hezbollah and yet another one in an incident attributed to Hezbollah and others in an incident attributed to the idf. So like this, this is an extreme concern for us in terms of the safety of our peacekeepers. But of course, we have the civilians who have had to leave large swaths of the south who are displaced both within our area of operations and outside because of this violence and this conflict that has escalated. And we've seen their villages, peacekeepers have observed the extreme destruction of villages, including again Nakura next door to our headquarters. The damage that we're seeing because of this conflict and because of what's happening on the ground is absolutely devastating. And it's something that cannot continue if we're going to see long term stability and eventually peace again in this region.

[Venetia Rainey]

I want to come back to that in more detail again in a minute. But just on the subject of UNIFIL peacekeepers being killed, six killed since the Iran war erupted right at the end of February, and as you say, some attributed to Hezbollah and some attributed to Israel. Is it the feeling that UN peacekeepers are being specifically targeted or are they just collateral?

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, those cases are still under investigation in terms of the full circumstances. We'll have to wait and see what those investigations say in terms of what the intention was behind it. But nonetheless, there's a great deal of violence happening. Peacekeepers are on the ground, we're in the middle of it. In a lot of cases, we're beside where a lot of these clashes and activities are happening. There are projectiles flying back and forth over our bases. And so this is something that is a concern for us.

[Venetia Rainey]

Is it scary? Does it mean that UNIFIL peacekeepers are less likely to leave their bases and go out and do the monitoring work that they're supposed to be doing?

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, peacekeepers are soldiers. They're trained for this work. They're very well prepared. We have intensive security procedures in place. We have had to adapt, of course, because it is dangerous.

[Venetia Rainey]

How have you adapted?

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, we've had to limit the number of patrols that we do outside of our base basis. Before, we were able to go much more freely throughout the area of operations. Now we cannot, we're limiting a lot of our patrols to nearby the bases to ensure primarily our force protection, to ensure that our bases are not being used to launch attacks by one party against another and just to ensure the safety of peacekeepers. Of course, throughout the course of this, we're able to monitor and report what's happening around, but it is much more limited than it was before. We're not able to see the extent of the territory, of what's happening, of the violations because of that limitation. You know, we have watchtowers, we have our observation posts where we're still able to see a lot. But again, this is limited. We're able to do to perform our duties under Resolution 1701, but not in the same way that we were before. Which is not to say that the work is not valuable, but it's not as complete as it would have Been

[Venetia Rainey]

do you feel able to perform your duty? I know the Israeli charge is always that, you know, UNIFIL has not managed to stop Hezbollah from operating militarily in southern Lebanon, and therefore it's useless and should be disbanded. I'm sure UNIFIL feels otherwise. But what do you do when you see Hezbollah firing a projectile or Israelis doing something that you feel contravenes international law?

[Candice Ardeel]

We're here to support Lebanon and Israel in implementing their obligations under Resolution 1701. Some of the obligations include, of course, the Israeli withdrawal from all of the territory of Lebanon, the Lebanese side that is establishing an area that is free of unauthorized weapons between the Latani river and the Blue Line. So it's the parties that have those obligations we're here to monitor, to support them in doing that. And so this is what we're doing. We don't have a role to step in and stop violations per se, except in very limited circumstances. For example, if we see a civilian in imminent danger, people, peacekeepers can step in at that point.

[Venetia Rainey]

Have you had to step in to save civilians?

[Candice Ardeel]

We haven't had to intervene to support civilians, for example, who wanted to leave areas where there was conflict happening. We've sheltered civilians in our bases, and so we've done what we can to support civilians in the circumstances. And again, this all depends on our means and capabilities. The primary responsibility to protect civilians does lie with the government of Lebanon, but we're able to help where they cannot or. And in this situation, obviously it's quite volatile now. Most of the civilians, frankly, in the conflict zones are no longer there.

[Venetia Rainey]

What does the landscape in southern Lebanon look like now? I mean, I remember when I lived in Beirut and traveled down there. It's beautiful rolling hills, these very old villages with these lovely sort of Ottoman red tiled roofs. It's a very beautiful landscape with these quiet little villages. What does it look like at the moment? I'm seeing so many videos of whole villages being demolished.

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, the conflict since 2023 has taken a toll. We've seen the landscape in some places completely changed, vegetation removed, burned, you know, perhaps for military purposes. But nonetheless, it has drastically changed the landscape. You still have these rolling hills. Many of them are not green anymore. They've been laid bare with bulldozers and other, other machinery. So the. The landscape is completely different. Many of the villages have just been completely devastated again, including Nikora, right next to our headquarters, which we can see from our headquarters every day, is the

[Venetia Rainey]

Israeli security buffer zone, the forward defense line, whatever it is that they call it. That reaches, I think, 30 kilometers inside Lebanese territory. Is that visible on the ground? Is that clear where that sort of demarcation line is?

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, as I say, for us, we're monitoring and reporting. It's not as easy for us to. To see as it was before. So we're able to hear activities that are happening on the ground, for example, points of origin of projectiles, points of impact of projectiles. We can monitor where these things are happening, but it is difficult to see precisely and to give precisely a line where. Where things are. Nonetheless, for us, the blue line is what matters. Any Israeli presence that's beyond the blue line, which is the line of withdrawal between Lebanon and Israel, this is what matters. Any presence of Israeli soldiers north of that is a violation of Resolution 1701. And that is our main concern.

[Venetia Rainey]

Does it feel like they're bedding in permanently? From what you can see for the

[Candice Ardeel]

moment, the situation is extremely volatile. There's a lot of movement. It's a conflict. I wouldn't say that there is any solid indications of permanency.

[Venetia Rainey]

But you've seen Hezbollah's presence across southern Lebanon. Do you think it's merited the way the Israelis are targeting whole villages, whole Shiite villages, and leaving Christian villages?

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, the systematic nature of some of the targeting of these villages is a concern. Of course. The IDF says that they're targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. And I will say, looking at the village of Nakura myself, I raise my eyebrows as to whether every single home, home in that village could have been considered terrorist infrastructure, including homes of people that I know and work with, frankly. So the fact that we're seeing the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods of villages, that should raise a lot of concerns. And I think that's something that should be looked at not by peacekeepers, perhaps, but by others.

[Venetia Rainey]

Can you tell us a bit about the impact on your Lebanese colleagues?

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, we have a number of very dedicated Lebanese staff working civilians, Lebanese staff working with us in unifil, living in the south for the most part, and they've suffered a lot. All of the. When this conflict first escalated in March, many of the international colleagues went home to their home countries, and they're working remotely. Our Lebanese colleagues moved to different parts of Lebanon. I don't think very many are left in the south. There are a few, but the situation is extremely difficult. Many of them have lost their home homes. Many of them are living with family members or others elsewhere, renting apartments that are very expensive. It creates a great deal of hardship. They're suffering exactly the same hardships that people across South Lebanon are suffering. You know, there has been a mass exodus from the south because of this conflict. And in a sense, our peacekeeping colleagues are feeling some of the same, same things as their neighbors because they are part of the community and they are experiencing exactly what everyone else is.

[Venetia Rainey]

What's the mood like in Lebanon at the moment? You know, it's a country with a long history of sectarian strife, to put it mildly. It had its 15 year civil war and I know some people are worried that this latest round of conflict over Hezbollah will reignite sectarian conflict. Do you feel like fears of civil war are overplayed or valid?

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, people are extremely concerned about the situation and what it might mean for the long term for security, for stability. And of course these concerns are being, are being, are being expressed. But nonetheless, the main concern for us as peacekeepers is this ongoing conflict, the violations of Resolution 1701, because this is something that is creating this instability that will lead to long term problems that we, we may not be able to anticipate or control. So we need to deal with the situation of this conflict so we can return to security and stability. Because ultimately, if people can live in peace on both sides of the Blue Line, that is what we need for long term security and stability across the entire region.

[Venetia Rainey]

Feels like we should give our listeners a little bit of history for those who aren't familiar with Resolution 1701 and the blue Line and all of this. So could you just take us back a bit to UNIFIL's founding and where the Blue Line comes from?

[Candice Ardeel]

Well, UNIFIL actually goes back to 1978 and it was a time when Israel had invaded Lebanon. Lebanon asked the international community for help. The Security council adopted resolutions 425 and 426 and established UNIFIL. Fast forward a few decades. In 2006, there was a war between Hezbollah and Israel and the resolution that gave UNIFIL its mandate was expanded. Those original tenets of peace and security and the Israeli withdrawal that were embodied in 425 and 426 are still there, but it was expanded. And so UNIFIL was given a mandate to support the Lebanese Armed Forces and to help the Lebanese armed forces establish this weapons free zone, this zone free of unauthorized weapons, meaning weapons belonging to non state armed groups between the Litany river and the Blue Line. And so since 2006, this has been what UNIFIL has been operating under. We've been supporting the Lebanese Armed forces in doing that. We've established a number of liaison and coordination mechanisms to pass messages between the Lebanese and Israeli sides to avoid some of the unintended misunderstandings that could happen in situations of tension. And we've just monitored and reported what has been happening to the Security Council in terms of the Violations of Resolution 17 1, Crossing the Blue Line and any clashes and conflicts and things like this.

[Venetia Rainey]

So the blue line, just to explain it, is basically it's the Lebanese Israeli border, short of something more formal having been agreed. Right. I know it's not an internationally recognized border. There's contested areas like the Sheba Farms and stuff. But the blue line is what was sort of drawn up by the UN to show when the Israelis would have been considered to have withdrawn.

[Candice Ardeel]

Withdrawn? Yes. It's not a border. It's not a border, It's a line of withdrawal. But that's essentially. It's the, the line between Lebanon and Israel. Basically, we're the referees and we will point out and report someone has crossed the line. Keeping score. Okay, this is the line. This is where we measure it.

[Venetia Rainey]

And the Israelis, apart from a few contested areas, like I say, Sheba Farms and a few other places, did withdraw south of that Blue line in 2000.

[Candice Ardeel]

For the most part.

[Venetia Rainey]

Yes, for the most part. But what hasn't happened is Hezbollah has not disappeared from Lebanon. There is still a non state actor with weapons. UNIFIL is the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. Have I got that right? Ye. To be an interim force to deal with this problem. But I mean, it hasn't been able to deal with this problem. And now we have Hezbollah, some would say stronger than ever, firing fiber optic drones, you know, innovating in its warfare. And the Israelis are back in southern Lebanon. Is it time for a different force to be thought up?

[Candice Ardeel]

It's the Lebanese authorities and the Lebanese Armed Forces who are tasked to deal with non state armed groups on their territory. We're here to support them and which we do when and have how, in whichever capacities we're asked to do so. But the primary responsibility is with the government of Lebanon to do that. The question of whether what will come next or what should come next is not for us to answer. But the Security Council has decided that UNIFIL's mandate will end at the end of this year. And they will be presented options by the Secretary General within possibly a few days. I understand it's happening in June. The Security Council will receive these options proposed as to what can come next because clearly, especially given the current circumstances, there does need to be some kind of international support here. In south Lebanon to help return this situation to the stability that we all hope that we can see in this region, not just in Lebanon, but of course, all across the region along the Blue line.

[Venetia Rainey]

Sit Drop drones. I can hear in the background, by the way, or is that just.

[Candice Ardeel]

It is. Yes, it is.

[Venetia Rainey]

It is drones.

[Candice Ardeel]

It's very loud.

[Venetia Rainey]

Is that just a constant sound now?

[Candice Ardeel]

Yes. I mean, I've just arrived in Beirut yesterday. We hear them in Nakura all the time and whenever I've been in Beirut, it is a fairly constant presence.

[Venetia Rainey]

And these are Israeli drones, to be clear to our listeners. Not Hezbollah drones, Yes, I assume, yes. Thank you. Candice Adil from unifil. Thank you for joining us on around the Latest.

[Candice Ardeel]

Thank you.

[Venetia Rainey]

That was Candice Ardeel, spokesperson for unifil. And that's all for today's episode of Iran the Latest. We'll be back again tomorrow. Until then, goodbye. Iran the Latest is an original podcast from the Telegraph, created by David Knowles and hosted by me, Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant. If you appreciated this podcast, please consider following around the latest on your your preferred podcast app. And if you have a moment, leave a review as it helps others find the show. For more from our foreign correspondents on the ground, sign up for our new daily newsletter, Cables, or listen to our sister podcast Ukraine the Latest. We're still on the same email address battleionselegraph.co.uk or you can contact us on X. You can find our handles in the show. Notes. The producer is Peter Shevlin. The executive producers are Venetia Rainey and Louisa Wells.

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