Iona Cleave

US Correspondent for @Telegraph based in NYC || #30ToWatch 2025 II Got a story: iona.cleave (at)

[Iona Cleave @cleaveiona]

Some personal news:
I have moved to New York to take on my new role as US Correspondent for The @Telegraph

Please do reach out with any US-focused tips/stories. Also, if any NYC-based contacts would like to go for a coffee, contact me here: [email protected]

[Iona Cleave @cleaveiona]

The Iran war revealed the limits of US military power to achieve political objectives. But also left allies and partners questioning their relations with Washington.

Is the damage to US credibility on the world stage irreparable?

My report:
https://t.co/xwScHK3BAP

[Iona Cleave @cleaveiona]

Who is the man operating in the shadows between Washington and Caracas?

Officially, Mauricio Claver-Carone has no role in the US government.

Unofficially, he appears to be guiding the future of Venezuela on behalf of the Trump admin

My report here:
https://t.co/dvTf3IVFox

[Iona Cleave @cleaveiona]

Steve Hilton: The former adviser to David Cameron running for California governor

The English-born Republican has carved an unlikely path to victory in tomorrow's primary in one of America’s bluest states

https://t.co/mkMaAqKUIr

[Andrew Buncombe @AndrewBuncombe]

A new MeToo scandal is unfolding on Capitol Hill, reports @cleaveiona @Telegraph https://t.co/HzkVZK9YFP

[The Telegraph @Telegraph]

Rural America overwhelmingly voted for Mr Trump in 2024, beating his margins in 2020 and 2016.

But surging costs and low commodity prices, partly driven by his administration’s policies, are testing the loyalties of those who helped return him to office.

@cleaveiona spoke to farmers to understand their current economic struggles 👇
https://t.co/iu6eVYv1qd

[christinalamb @christinalamb]

I never thought I would say this but the blue flak jackets that are meant to protect journalists reporting war are now putting targets on our backs https://t.co/pBbcNtxT0d

[The Telegraph @Telegraph]

The front page of today's Daily Telegraph:

Trump announces 11th-hour Iran truce

#TomorrowsPapersToday

[Iona Cleave @cleaveiona]

In the event of a US ground operation in Iran, all eyes are on Kharg Island, the regime's economic nerve centre.

But in the battle for the Strait of Hormuz, another island is likely to be occupying Donald Trump's mind.

My report today:

[The Telegraph @Telegraph]

If Donald Trump were to order a ground assault to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Qeshm Island would be the most likely target, analysts and military experts told The Telegraph.

But the arrow-shaped island is a formidable target. This is why 👇
https://t.co/7zCeaOLbNV

[Vali Nasr @vali_nasr]

I write in @FT that Iran is playing the long game. In war, geography matters as much as technology. Iran commands the entire northern shore of the Gulf, looming large over energy fields on its southern shore and all that passes through its waters. Its Houthi allies are perched at the entrance to the Red Sea and along the passage to the Suez Canal; Iran is thus perfectly positioned to squeeze the global economy from both sides of the Arabian Peninsula. Those in command of Iran today are veterans of asymmetric wars in Iraq and Syria. They are now applying the same strategy to fighting the US on the battlefield of the global economy. Drones, short-range missiles and mines setting tankers and ports on fire can have the same effect IEDs had in Iraq, only with greater impact — disrupting global supply chains and sending oil prices higher.

Iran could sustain its counteroffensive more easily and for far longer. Furthermore, a ceasefire alone will not lift the shadow of risk that Iran has imposed over the Gulf, which is now experiencing its nightmare scenario. That is why Iranian leaders are saying they will not accept a ceasefire until Washington fully grasps the global economic cost of waging this war. Businesses, investors and tourists may not return to the Gulf states if they assume that war could resume again. Unless the US is prepared to invade Iran to remove the Islamic republic’s leaders and then stay there to ensure stability and security, confidence in the Gulf will only return if the US and Iran arrive at a durable ceasefire.

Iran says it will only accept a ceasefire with international guarantees for its sovereignty, which would probably mean a direct role for Russia and China. It may also demand compensation for war damages and a verifiable ceasefire in Lebanon. The US would then have to agree to some form of the nuclear deal it left on the table in Geneva in February and commit to lifting sanctions. Iran’s leaders entered this war with the goal of ensuring it will be the last one. Either it breaks them or radically changes the country’s circumstances. They are betting on surviving long enough and squeezing the global economy hard enough to realise that goal.

Read full article https://t.co/63RNeA8Bza

[Michael Kofman @KofmanMichael]

Happy to share the latest. My views on the current battlefield dynamics and where the war stands in 2026. https://t.co/Wkrnmn3nE1

[Iona Cleave @cleaveiona]

ICE agents patrol the streets of US cities with military-grade weaponry. But less visible is the agency’s expanding arsenal of surveillance technologies.
My report looks inside its technology war chest that is larger and more opaque than ever before
https://t.co/azWbRCiCPC

[Memphis Barker @memphisbarker]

I spent so long in a mocked-up inbox of Epstein’s emails this week that I tried to send a message from his account — this is the result, a long read on how he built his two networks, teenage girls and Nobel judges (gift link) https://t.co/a2V54iVi6Q

[Arash Azizi آرش عزیزی @arash_tehran]

I wrote about Raha Bahloulipour, one of the thousands of Iranians massacred by the regime last month.

Her Letterboxd diary and online accounts allowed me to peer into her world.

[Iona Cleave @cleaveiona]

My report yesterday, including an interview with Al-Hol's camp commander, who described the scenes of chaos inside, with Islamic State-affiliated detainees 'shooting, burning and looting'.
'Many escaped' between the withdrawal of Kurdish forces and the arrival of the Syrian army

[The Telegraph @Telegraph]

Dozens of suspected Islamic State (IS) wives pulled down fences and escaped from a prison camp in Syria 60 miles from where British-born Shamima Begum is being held

Our foreign desk explains everything to know👇
https://t.co/Zi9GquKuT0

[Andy Gibson @AndyGibsonTV]

"TRUMP: HELP IS ON THE WAY"
@Akhtar_Makoii / @CleaveIona for @Telegraph
Full Story: https://t.co/DbGhsMV6Jc

#DonaldTrump has told protesters in #Iran that "help is on its way" as he considers strikes on the #IslamicRepublic.

#DailyTelegraph
#TomorrowsPapersToday
#IBPAPERS

[Iona Cleave @cleaveiona]

Maduro's capture brought mixed reactions among Cubans, many want regime change - but not one forced on them by Washington, fearful of a Trump-led takeover

A look into what happens next as Trump admin sets its sights on the beleaguered Caribbean nation:
https://t.co/QZw83knXkl

[Iona Cleave @cleaveiona]

My report on the shadow war being waged behind enemy lines to derail Putin’s war effort
& what will happen if Ukraine is forced to cede land under Trump's peace deal
“We will become an invisible army. We aren’t waiting for peace – we are preparing for liberation"
@atesh_eng

[The Telegraph @Telegraph]

🔴 Ceasefire will not bring peace but mark a new stage in the shadow war being waged by resistance fighters

Find out more ⬇️
https://t.co/YnHibEcqzq

[Iona Cleave @cleaveiona]

16 sanctioned oil tankers fled Venezuela in defiance of a US navy blockade of the country
The ships, laden with crude and fuel oil, left the country’s waters in 'dark mode' and were spoofing their locations to appear in the Baltic Sea and Nigeria
https://t.co/Iye9YkdgLb

[Andy Gibson @AndyGibsonTV]

"HORROR ON NEW YEAR'S EVE"
@CleaveIona / @SEJHudson for @Telegraph
Full Story: https://t.co/xtF3eDUW0M

A fire tore through #LeConstellation (a #SkiResort) killing at least 40 people and injuring 115 in #CransMontana, #Switzerland.

#DailyTelegraph
#TomorrowsPapersToday
#IBPAPERS