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The World in Brief from The Economist

Trump’s counterterrorism chief resigns; Iran confirms killing of security chief, and more

The World in Brief from The Economist

The Economist

Global News, Daily News, News, News & Politics

4.11.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2026

⏱️ 5 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

One of the Trump administration’s top officials resigned in protest against the Iran war.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello, you're listening to the free edition of the world in brief from The Economist.

0:11.2

As a reminder, if you subscribe to The Economist, you'll get access to a deeper look at the day ahead, updated three times a day.

0:20.1

If you're already an Economist subscriber,

0:22.6

visit Economist.com slash espresso or visit our Espresso app to start listening. Here's today's

0:29.5

free edition.

0:35.2

This is the world in brief from The Economist.

0:41.8

Our top stories.

0:44.7

One of the Trump's administration's top officials resigned in protest against the Iran war.

0:51.1

Joe Kent, who served as the National Counterterrorism Chief, said in his resignation letter

0:57.0

that he could not support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a pointless war,

1:03.5

as Iran posed no imminent threat to America. He blamed Donald Trump's involvement on pressure

1:10.2

from Israel.

1:13.0

Iranian state media confirmed that Israel killed Ali Larajani,

1:18.5

secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council,

1:22.4

as well as Olamrza Salamani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Basij Militia.

1:29.1

Mr. Larijani was the most public face of the regime and had been running the nuclear negotiations

1:35.4

with America.

1:37.9

Mr. Trump said he no longer needed help from NATO allies in his Iran war.

1:44.1

Several countries ruled out participation,

1:46.9

including Germany, Italy, Spain and Canada, or said they had no plans to send warships,

1:52.9

Australia, France and Japan, to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz. Quote, they should have

1:58.6

been there, the president said at a White House press briefing.

...

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