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Sir Alex Younger, the longest-serving head of MI6, died in June 2026, aged 62. He spent 30 years at MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service, with six of those as its boss. Few people better understood what intelligence services are capable of—and what can erode them.
Shashank Joshi, The Economist’s defence editor, spoke to Sir Alex in March 2026, in one of his final interviews before the former spy chief’s death. They discussed America’s place in the world and the nature of modern spycraft, the conflict with Iran and the health of Iran’s regime and reflected on Sir Alex’s long and distinguished career in British intelligence.
#war #iran #america #spy
00:30 Sir Alex’s analysis of the Iran conflict
04:32 Effect of closing the Strait of Hormuz
08:00 The damage to Iran’s nuclear programme
10:23 How strong is the Iranian regime?
15:35 What comes after Iran’s current regime?
17:24 The state of American intelligence
23:00 Espionage in the age of AI
27:00 Analysis of the Gulf countries
33:00 The future of the Middle East region
37:10 The relationship between Europe and America
42:11 How internationalised is the conflict?
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