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WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

President Trump, Iran and the Fog of Diplomacy

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

News, Society & Culture

4.22.8K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2026

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The U.S. holds off striking Iran's power infrastructure, as President Trump cites "productive conversations" with the regime, but Tehran denies any talks are taking place. Meantime, Iran fires missiles at Diego Garcia, a base in the Indian Ocean that's about 4,000 kilometers away, which should be a threat warning to Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

I think the potential of Agenic is to rethink how work gets done overall. It challenges all sorts of traditional orthodoxies around how organizations execute the work at hand. That's Jason Gersatus, CEO of Deloitte U.S., talking about the transformational potential of A.Gentic AI. Join him later to learn why agents are a game changer for businesses across industries.

0:25.6

From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.

0:31.6

President Trump postponed strikes on Iran's power infrastructure as more details emerge about the surprising and alarming range

0:39.4

of the regime's missiles, and as thousands of U.S. troops and Marines get set to arrive in the Middle

0:44.7

East. Welcome, I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal. We're joined today by my colleagues

0:50.6

on the WS.J's opinion pages, columnist Matt Contenetti, who writes for the journal's

0:55.8

free expression newsletter and editorial board member Kate O'Dell.

1:00.7

The fog of diplomacy is how the journal's editorial headline puts the state of play in the

1:05.9

Iranian war this morning. President Trump had threatened to strike the regime's power plants if it refused to let

1:12.3

ships pass unthreatened through the Strait of Hormuz. But in the Truth Social Post, early

1:17.3

Monday morning, Trump delayed that action, saying that the U.S. and Iran had engaged in very good

1:23.3

and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities.

1:29.4

He added that based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive

1:34.7

conversations, I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes

1:40.1

against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period.

1:45.3

Iranian sources then denied that there were any talks ongoing. One of them,

1:50.3

according to report in state media, saying there is no negotiation with this kind of psychological

1:56.0

warfare. Neither the Strait of Hormuz will return to its pre-war conditions, nor will

2:00.6

there be peace in the energy markets, unquote.uz will return to its pre-war conditions, nor will there be peace

2:01.3

in the energy markets, unquote. Let's listen to a piece of what President Trump said in the Oval

2:06.5

office on Tuesday. Well, I think we're going to end it. I can't tell you for sure.

2:13.7

You know, I don't like to say this. We've won this. This war has been won.

...

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