The Strategy Behind Israel’s Killing of Two More Iranian Leaders

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

News, Daily News

4.1 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

P.M. Edition for Mar. 17. A top U.S. counterterrorism official resigns over the war with Iran, while Israel said it killed two of Iran’s leaders. We hear from WSJ reporter Anat Peled about Israel’s strategy to take out top leaders of enemy organizations. Plus, the Senate kicks off debate over a voter-eligibility bill called the SAVE America Act. Journal reporter Anvee Bhutani joins us from Capitol Hill to discuss its prospects for becoming law. And social media is buzzing about a new AI tool from Perplexity that some say can rival the functions of the Bloomberg terminal for a lot less money. But tech reporter Isabelle Bousquette reports that Wall Street’s obsession with the terminal means that it may not be so easily replaced. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it.
0:05.0	Infliction is killing me!
0:08.0	But who cares? Big retailers are making record profits!
0:12.0	That's why we support the Durban Marshall Credit Card Bill!
0:15.0	See? Banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll.
0:18.0	This bill would cut the vital resources they need.
0:25.1	While increasing megastore profits, they deserve it. Don't they?
0:29.1	Tell Congress, stop the Durban Marshall money grab for corporate megastores.
0:31.2	Paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.
0:46.5	In the latest on Iran, a top U.S. official resigns over the war, while Israel continues its strategy of taking out top enemy leadership with the killing of Iranian security chief Ali Larajani.
0:53.7	While this is a strategic military achievement, it's just not clear that it's going to move the needle in terms of regime change. Plus, the Senate kicks off debate on a contentious voter ID bill pushed by President Trump.
0:59.4	And finance bros say, hands off my Bloomberg terminal, even when AI claims to do the same thing for less.
1:06.0	It's Tuesday, March 17th.
1:08.0	I'm Alex O'Sullough for the Wall Street Journal.
1:10.4	This is the PM edition of
1:12.1	What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.
1:20.0	The top U.S. counterterrorism officials said today that he had resigned over his concerns about
1:25.2	the war with Iran. Joe Kent, director of the National
1:28.3	Counterterrorism Center, posted a screenshot of his resignation letter, adding that he could not
1:33.4	support the war, and that, quote, Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. He also said that the
1:39.2	U.S. had started the war because of pressure from Israel. It's the first significant departure from the Trump
1:44.5	administration due to the conflict. When asked about it by reporters in the Oval Office today,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Wall Street Journal, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Wall Street Journal and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.