Iran Picks New Supreme Leader, War Enters Ninth Day

Summary

Bloomberg This Weekend

Episode Title: Iran Picks New Supreme Leader, War Enters Ninth Day

Date: March 8, 2026
Hosts: David Gura, Christina Raffini, Lisa Mateo

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Episode Overview

This episode delves deeply into the ongoing war involving Iran, the unprecedented disruptions in global energy markets, the political recalibrations in the region following leadership changes in Iran, and the broader geopolitical implications, including U.S. domestic and foreign policy. The hosts interview expert guests—energy authority Daniel Yergin, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, and Senator Mike Rounds—to offer authoritative insights. The episode closes on a lighter note with a conversation about resilience and representation with Olympic bobsledders Elana Myers Taylor and Kaylee Humphries.

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Key Segments and Themes

1. Global Energy Shock Amid War with Iran

Guest: Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of S&P Global, Energy Historian, Pulitzer Prize Winner
Timestamps: [02:10] – [12:55]

Key Points:

• Oil and Gas Prices Spike

  • Oil prices exceed $90 a barrel after a 36% weekly jump; gas prices up 45 cents to $3.45/gal.
  • Yergin warns this is “the biggest disruption in oil production in history,” emphasizing the uncertainty of duration as key to the economic impact.

• Nightmare Scenario

  • Yergin describes the "nightmare scenario" ([03:53]) as a prolonged conflict causing infrastructure damage, causing oil prices to “skyrocket,” financial market chaos, and global recession.
  • “This is at the scale that we’re seeing now. There’s nothing comparable to it.” – Daniel Yergin [03:30]

• Possible Iranian Futures

  • Christina Raffini asks whether a more conservative regime or a power vacuum is riskier for global oil ([04:22]). Yergin highlights the risk of chaos given Iran’s ethnic divisions and revolutionary legacy.

• Market Reactions and Production Cuts

  • Regional oil producers like the UAE and Kuwait are cutting back; Saudi Arabia reroutes oil through pipelines rather than tankers due to bottlenecks ([05:16]).

• Strait of Hormuz Blockage

  • Significant bottleneck as almost no traffic is passing through; Iranian navy largely destroyed but risks from drones and explosive speedboats remain ([06:19]-[07:49]).
  • “At least as I understand, escorts [for tankers] are not ready to do that yet.” – Daniel Yergin [06:58]

• Role of U.S. and Allies

  • The U.S. administration is considering naval escorts and potentially government-backed insurance to encourage oil shipping ([06:46]-[08:30]).

• Strategic Oil Reserves

  • Yergin notes the U.S. is in a stronger position due to record production and strategic reserves, but a coordinated international response may be necessary ([11:26]).
  • “This is a much more serious disruption of oil than the ones that President Biden responded to.” – Daniel Yergin [11:44]

• Impact on Global Oil Market

  • 20% of world oil and LNG production currently offline; tankers rerouting from Europe to Asia, heightening competition ([09:42]).

• Resilience in Energy Markets

  • Despite severity, Yergin points to U.S. and allied oil production, strategic reserves, and rerouting capabilities as sources of resilience ([10:37]-[11:26]).

Notable Quotes:

• “The key question for global energy is the duration of this explosive war.” – David Gura citing Daniel Yergin [02:33]
• “You have lost 20% of world oil. You’ve lost 20% of LNG.” – Daniel Yergin [09:42]
• “We are not in the position we would have been a decade or two ago because the U.S. is now the world’s largest oil producer.” – Daniel Yergin [10:37]

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2. U.S., Israel, and Geopolitical Realignment

Guest: Tom Nides, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel (2021-2023)
Timestamps: [15:59] – [26:19]

Key Points:

• Iran’s Regional Tactics

  • Nides asserts, “Iran is a wicked regime… through their proxies between Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis, they made a strategic decision to attack their allies in the Middle East, changing the dynamics here.” [16:40]

• Regime Change Debate

  • Skepticism about U.S.-backed regime change: “Last time I checked, there aren’t Jeffersonian democracies in those countries.” – Tom Nides referencing Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya [17:44]

• U.S.-Israel Dynamics

  • Dismisses Iranian claims that Netanyahu “duped” the U.S. into conflict: “The idea that somehow people have been duped into realizing that Iran is a bad actor is ridiculous.” [18:43]

• Hezbollah and Lebanon

  • Ongoing Israeli operations against Hezbollah, growing threats at the Lebanese border, and the broader dangers of Iranian proxies ([20:36]-[21:38]).

• Consular and Civilian Crisis

  • Criticism of the U.S. State Department's pace in organizing evacuations for Americans in the region: “It’s complicated… getting charters in is not simple to do, especially when the airspace is complicated.” – Tom Nides [22:23]

• Diplomacy and Coalition-Building

  • Nides calls for broader coalition: “You need friends in good times and you certainly need friends in bad times… you definitely need allies in times of war.” [25:18]

Memorable Moment:

• “The region is getting a little bit of feeling of what, sadly, Israel has been through for a long, long time and they don’t like it.” – Tom Nides [23:37]

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3. U.S. Policy, Congressional View, and Public Sentiment

Guest: Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD), Senate Armed Services & Intelligence Committees
Timestamps: [29:24] – [40:53]

Key Points:

• Justifying the War

  • On rationale to constituents: “We knew that while the nuclear facilities had been really significantly disrupted, Iran was still looking at other things… They had continued to increase their supplies of short-term and intermediate ballistic missiles and a huge number of drones.” [29:48]

• Timing and Strategic Decisions

  • “There’s never a right time [for war], but there are better times than others… The longer we waited, the more of their offensive capabilities.” [31:57]

• Timeline Expectations

  • “I don’t think any of us are expecting an extended long-term engagement… so far our plans appear to be going as scheduled.” [32:21]

• Economic Concerns and Gas Prices

  • Acknowledges public anxiety over price spikes, but argues stabilization will occur after securing the Strait of Hormuz ([33:49]-[34:29]).

• Risk of Troops on the Ground and War Costs

  • “You never take away options… It doesn’t mean [the President] is going to send troops in, but he never takes away the option.” [35:45]
  • Justifies costs as necessary due to regional threat acceleration: “If we can get in now and get this done in a fairly short period of time, it would be less expensive now than if we delayed.” [35:45]

• On Civilian Casualties Controversy

  • Responds to reports about bombing of an elementary school, emphasizing avoidance of civilian targets and the need for investigation ([39:13]-[40:49]).

Memorable Quotes:

• “It’s not a matter of being worth it. It’s a matter of at what point do you take out a major threat to the United States and to the stability throughout the Middle East?” – Senator Rounds [37:38]
• “There is no leader out there that wants to go to funerals, but there is an obligation… whether or not this is the right time, long term, to protect U.S. interests.” – Senator Rounds [37:38]

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4. Resilience and Representation: U.S. Women’s Bobsled Team

Guests: Elana Myers Taylor (most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympic history) & Kaylee Humphries (Olympic champion bobsledder)
Timestamps: [43:42] – [50:11]

Key Points:

• Balancing Motherhood and Elite Sport

  • Elana Myers Taylor: “My kids are my motivation… I just wanted to show them that regardless of what the world tells you, you can go after your dreams.” [44:23]
  • Kaylee Humphries: “Believing in yourself, believing in what’s possible and dreaming big is a huge part… I wanted to put my best foot forward, even a year and a half postpartum.” [45:15]

• Breaking Barriers of Age and Gender

  • Both women competed and medaled in their 40s, challenging stereotypes about motherhood and athletic performance ([46:24]-[46:58]).
  • “It took me two kids and almost 20 years to finally win a gold medal. When it’s against all odds, it was really cool.” – Elana Myers Taylor [46:58]

• Importance of Support Networks

  • Myers Taylor: “If you have the right support system, there’s no limit to what women can accomplish… but I just want to emphasize, it does take a village.” [47:32]

• Teamwork and Mutual Motivation

  • Humphries on their partnership: “We’ve really pushed each other… I get to be the athlete I am because she motivates and pushes me to be the best because she’s working super hard to beat me and vice versa.” [48:13]

Notable Quote:

• “It takes a village. Sometimes it’s an Olympic village.” – Christina Raffini [49:56]

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Noteworthy Moments & Quotes with Timestamps

• Daniel Yergin on Resilience:
  “We’re not in the position we would have been a decade or two ago because the U.S. is now the world’s largest oil producer.” [10:37]

• Tom Nides on Regime Change and Complexity:
  “Last time I checked, there aren’t Jeffersonian democracies in those countries. So this is really complicated, guys.” [17:44]

• Senator Mike Rounds on Taking Action:
  “The president had to make a tough decision. This is the right call at the right time.” [34:29]

• Elana Myers Taylor on Overcoming Odds:
  “It took me two kids and almost 20 years to finally win a gold medal… and it just goes to show you, if you have the right support system, there’s no limit to what women can accomplish.” [46:58-47:32]

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Segment Timestamps (Quick-Reference)

• Global Energy Analysis with Daniel Yergin: [02:10] – [12:55]
• Middle East Diplomacy & Security with Tom Nides: [15:59] – [26:19]
• U.S. Strategy and Congress with Senator Mike Rounds: [29:24] – [40:53]
• Olympic Resilience (Women’s Bobsled): [43:42] – [50:11]

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Conclusion

This episode rigorously analyzes the global ramifications of the war with Iran—from energy markets to international diplomacy—providing authoritative perspectives from leading experts and policymakers. It contextualizes headline events with historical depth and insight into the mechanics of global energy systems and U.S. foreign policy. The episode closes with a celebration of women’s resilience and tenacity, making for a richly informative and, ultimately, inspiring listen.

Transcript

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[Christina Raffini]

podcasts Radio News welcome to the Bloomberg

[Chase for Business Narrator]

this Weekend podcast with David Gura, Christina

[Kaylee Humphries]

Raffini and Lisa Mateo.

[Christina Raffini]

Thanks for joining us for today's selection of conversations from the show.

[David Gura]

You can listen to our favorite discussions right here on the podcast. Also, make sure to join us live every Saturday and Sunday morning starting at 7am Eastern.

[Christina Raffini]

We're on Bloomberg Television Radio and the Bloomberg Business App, bringing you unique takes and in depth interviews on news, politics, lifestyle and culture. We are going to talk about energy. Oil prices above $90 a barrel, that's up about 36% in a week. Gas prices $3.45 a gallon, that is up about 45 cents in a week.

[David Gura]

Daniel Jurgen writing in the Financial Times on Friday of this week in an opinion piece titled Is the Nightmare Scenario for Global Energy? Here, I'll read a little bit from it. Current oil prices in the 90s are far from the worst case scenario, but right now the world is looking at the biggest disruption in oil production in history, as well as a resounding shock to global gas markets. The key question for global energy, he writes, is the duration of this explosive war. Dan Juergen, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of the Prize the Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power, author of the New Map Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations, joins us now here on set New York. He's the vice chairman of S and P Global. Dan, great to have you with us.

[Christina Raffini]

Thank you so much. Although we did say in the break you are dressed a little better than us here on the weekend. It's a lovely time.

[Daniel Yergin]

Overdressed, correct.

[David Gura]

I want to start with just a broad question about the gravity of this moment. You get to it in that piece and in the ftse. How do you look at this in the broad sweep of history, the moment that we're in right now and the potential for this being a conflict that doesn't last a matter of days or weeks, as the president initially said. But, but he drags on longer than that.

[Daniel Yergin]

Well, it is at least it points to the possibility of the nightmare scenario that has really been there for half a century, ever since Iran erupted in revolution and set off an oil shock at the end of the 1970s. So but this is at the scale that we're seeing now. There's nothing comparable to it.

[David Gura]

And what does that mean when you say the nightmare scenario that out for us and what should we be expecting or fearing?

[Daniel Yergin]

I guess a nightmare scenario would be a war that goes on a long time, a disruption that goes out a long time. Prices really skyrocketing and 90 is high, but it's not skyrocketing with major impacts on financial markets and ultimately the world economy plummeting into a recession. That is more or less this nightmare scenario. That's not where, that's not where we are. And this would have to go on longer and also have to see considerable damage of the infrastructure in the region,

[Christina Raffini]

which concerns you more when it comes to possible Iranian outcomes, a more conservative regime that is less likely to collaborate or cooperate with, you know, other world's economic indicators or a total power vacuum. And can you talk about what the difference would be to the oil, global oil markets in production?

[Daniel Yergin]

Well, it's, you know, it's hard to imagine a totally chaotic Iran that's nobody's in control and there are ethnic divisions in the country that would tie it apart. But I think there is a question of imagining what kind of organization would rule the country other than what it has today. And would it give up? Would it give up its revolutionary zeal, its antagonism to the west, its effort to dominate its region and go back to being what might be called a normal country and a country that's focused on economic growth and development and doesn't running short of water as it is right now.

[Tom Nides]

Right.

[David Gura]

When you look at the news overnight that the UAE is cutting back production, Kuwait's cutting back production, we see the changes that Saudi Arabia is making shifting more of its oil through pipelines and not through this trade informings. What does that tell you? The way that these countries are reacting to this, about the trajectory of it going forward?

[Daniel Yergin]

In a way, if you may not remember, during COVID when the. All the storage was filled up because the market demand plummeted, people didn't know what to do with oil. In fact, starting in the negative.

[Tom Nides]

Right.

[Daniel Yergin]

Yeah. Oil prices went negative. That's kind of an. It's not a full analogy, but that's where they are right now. They can't put this. You have a very complicated integrated system that goes from pumping oil, processing it, getting into tankers, shipping it to markets. And that system isn't working now. It's, it's. It's bottled up and so that there's no place to put the oil and you run out of. Basically the countries are running out of storage and the only thing to do then is cut back production.

[Christina Raffini]

I also want to ask you about that bottled up and the bottleneck in the Strait of Hormuz. We've got some sound from the President. We want to play you.

[David Gura]

What about the Strait of Hormuz? There's no traffic really going through it right now.

[Daniel Yergin]

That's, you know, the ship's choices. But we haven't cleaned out.

[Tom Nides]

We've wiped out their navy.

[Daniel Yergin]

Their navy is now at the bottom of the sea. So that's the choice. This is an excursion. We figured oil prices would go up, which they will. They'll also come down.

[Tom Nides]

They'll come down very fast. And we will have gotten rid of

[Daniel Yergin]

a major, major cancer on the face of the earth.

[Christina Raffini]

The president has been trying to encourage the shipping to continue, saying the U.S. will help ensure the U.S. could even escort some armadas of ships as they go through. Is that realistic? And if you were a producer, would you take that risk with your assets?

[Daniel Yergin]

I think. I think it is. It is a very big risk. Obviously, people still have insurance, but it's now war rates, so it's gone way up. And of course, the administration said that they will insure ships if they can't get commercial insurance. But the risk is that a lot of the Iranian navy has been destroyed. But there's still drones and there's still Explosive speedboats that, those fast boats. Yeah, that would, would, would put a tanker at risk. And so you have to be very bold. And at least as I understand the escorts, they're not ready to do that yet because naval ships are focused on the war and protecting U.S. battleships. I mean, there have, we did have, in 1987, the U.S. provided escorts to Kuwaiti tankers, but there weren't any drones.

[David Gura]

Then I look back on the last week and there was that moment when the Treasury Secretary went on a rival network. He was on cnbc and he floated the possibility of the administration doing more and investors responded positively to that. As vague as the comment was.

[Daniel Yergin]

Did he, did he define more? Did he define more?

[David Gura]

No, there is a generalized lack of definition, I think on many fronts here. But that gets to my question, which is Christina asks about there being kind of escorts, naval escorts, perhaps additional insurance that's backed up or provided by the US Government. When you look at kind of the panoply of policy options that could be presented by this administration, what would make the most difference to industry at this point in time with such overarching uncertainty, what would actually happen?

[Daniel Yergin]

Well, would it be the end of the attacks? I mean, that would be it. It's very simple. And we know that, that the air war is aimed at the missile launchers, trying to knock them out one by one. They open up and get them. They're in these missile cities that Iran has. So I think it's trying to get Iran to a position where it simply is, is toothless. That's, that's the objective. And the President is talking, talked about unconditional surrender.

[David Gura]

Not sure what that means definition there as well. Yeah.

[Daniel Yergin]

And remember the Iran, it's a divided leadership and as well as a decimated leadership.

[Christina Raffini]

We're waiting this morning to see if they have chosen a new leader, but unclear, you know, that it won't be the same power center that Khomeini had.

[Daniel Yergin]

No. And I mean he had been at it for a long time.

[David Gura]

I'm curious how you see the price, where you see the price going from here. So it's been an incredibly fast move, as you point out in your pieces we've seen over the course of the week. And you know, we were talking about the prospects of $100 barrel last weekend. Where do you see the price going from here? And I think there's a question a lot of people have on their minds, which is what is the lag between that happening? We seeing even more manifest at the pump, higher gas prices.

[Daniel Yergin]

I think that, you know, there are all sorts of predictions out there. You hear people saying, you know, it's over 100 or 150. I mean, I think these are notional ideas that clearly all the pressures are for the price to go up. You have lost 20% of world oil. You've lost 20% of LNG. And as a result of that, markets, are you going to get people bidding for supplies? We see tankers that were going to carry LNG to Europe now being diverted to Asia. So, you know, everything points to higher prices. Where the limit is really depends upon event and, and, and why I say that what's the most important thing is the duration. Does this go on a week, does this go on a month? And that has different consequences.

[Christina Raffini]

As you look at this conflict and the economic story part of this, as we talk about it, as we've all talked about it, what are people missing? What is the most important thing that you think people are overlooking in this conflict and how it's impacting the economies?

[Daniel Yergin]

Well, to me, one thing is that we do have resilience. We're not in the position we would have been a decade or two ago because the US Is now the world's largest oil producer. That gives a security that we didn't have before. You have production going up elsewhere. You have Canada at 4 million barrels a day, Brazil is 4 million barrels a day, which is four times what, by the way, Venezuela is currently producing. So there are alternatives, and there are strategic stocks which were created in the 1970s in response to, to the threat of a disruption of supply coming from, from the Gulf. So you have all of those factors at work. You also have the Saudi have an east west network that can move oil to the Red Sea. So it isn't. Those are things that need to be kept in mind even as we look at an unprecedented situation.

[David Gura]

You bring up those strategic reserves. There's one in the U.S. of course, the President has talked a couple of times about the prospects of drawing that down. What is the calculus the President must use in a moment like this to decide? That's, of course used by President Biden as the war began in Ukraine. What should the President be thinking about when it comes to whether or not to deploy?

[Daniel Yergin]

This is a much more serious disruption of oil than the ones that President Biden responded to. We also saw it used at various times on the eve of certain presidential elections when gasoline prices go up. As we know, gasoline prices are the most sensitive prices in the country, particularly sensitive in an election year. So I think that you know it will be a judgment that this you need to send it into the market to reassure, reassure the markets. I remember that on the eve of the Gulf War in 1991, they released the strategic reserves and the price instead of going up as people thought went down. So I think I would expect, expect. And it's not only the US but you have all these other IEA countries and China has built up huge reserves that those will be used.

[Christina Raffini]

I think we want to talk more about China, we want to talk more about Russia. We want to talk more about several things, which is why we're keeping you captive here in our green room. And we will be back with you shortly after we cover a few other things.

[David Gura]

Yes. Great to have with us here on set. Dan, you're vice chairman of S and P Global again, the author of the Prize, the Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power, of course, that book, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Most recently, author of the New Map, Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations.

[Christina Raffini]

Yes, thank you for making me feel slightly smarter, Dan. I really appreciate it.

[David Gura]

Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend, right after this.

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[David Gura]

Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke yesterday in his quote a little bit from what he had to say. He touted a well organized plan with many surprises and suggested there are many more objectives which he declined to list during that speech on Saturday. Want to turn now to former Ambassador Tom Nides. He was the US ambassador to Israel from 2021 to 2023 and joins us on this Sunday morning. Ambassador, thank you very much for the time. And I want to start with a broad question and that is as we approach the second week of this war, how clear to you are the strategic objectives for Israel in this conflict?

[Tom Nides]

Well, first of all, thank you for having me this early morning. Thank God I got the clock straight

[David Gura]

before I got you and me both.

[Christina Raffini]

This is a big concern for everyone. Ambassador, we're very proud of you.

[Tom Nides]

Yeah, let me listen. You know, one thing I've learned in my my career here is foreign policy is very complicated. A lot of things can be true at the same time. There's no question that all of us understand that Iran is a wicked regime. What they have done in the last, you know, multiple decades, but certainly it's proven by what's happened here in the last couple weeks. Not only have they killed, you know, thousands of thousands of their own people who were protesting, but then they decided which they've always done is turn the guns on Israel, which we have known for and done seen and witnessed for a long period of time. But through their proxies between Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis, they made a strategic decision to attack their some of their allies in the Middle east, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the uae. That totally changed the dynamics here. So one, one for sure is that this is very complicated. And certainly, certainly from my perspective, I have no tears lost for the supreme Leader. The other issue I think is obviously what you've been talking about on the air a lot is what the end game is. And I think, you know, when the prime minister and the president talk about regime change, you know, I've been around this for a long time and involved in Afghanistan and Iraq and Libya. Last time I checked, there isn't Jeffersonian democracies in those countries. So this is really complicated, guys. And we're going to have to all watch this play out in the next couple weeks.

[Christina Raffini]

I want to ask you about that relationship between the prime minister and the president and how much influence Benjamin Netanyahu has over President Trump. We've got a statement from the Iranian foreign minister saying that Netanyahu was duped into conflict. He says they, meaning the American people have ended up with administration that Netanyahu, after decades of failed attempts, finally managed to dupe into fighting Israel's war. What's your take on that and how influential do you think Israel was in convincing Washington to make this decision?

[Tom Nides]

Well, first of all, I don't think I'm going to be suggesting that the Iranian spokesperson actually knows what he's talking about. I think there's a couple of things. First of all, no. 1, regardless if you love Israel or don't believe that what Iran has been doing to Israel through its proxies, look what they did with Hamas, look what they did with Hezbollah. Look what they did to their own people. So the idea that somehow people have been duped into realizing that Iran is a bad actor is ridiculous. You know, I do. I think that, you know, when I worked for President Biden, we supported Israel. When the Iranians attacked Israel for the first time, when I supported them in defense, but also offensively as well. So I don't think anyone's necessarily, quote, pushing Donald Trump around. I think that's somewhat absurd. I do think it is important to step back and to understand two things. One is we have to understand what the objectives of this is. How do we determine what success is? I'm not sure success is necessarily, quote, regime change. But one will have to debate that. And I do believe Congress has a role here, guys. I think it's important for us to understand that, and I think that will be debated for a long period of time of the role of Congress as it relates to this particular war.

[David Gura]

You bring up Hezbollah. I want to ask you about Lebanon because we've seen Israel's attacks now kind of venture into Lebanon more and more. And I'm going to play a little bit of sound here from Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, on, on what they're doing there in Lebanon. Let's take a listen to what he had to say in the government of Lebanon.

[Daniel Yergin]

In Lebanon will pay a heavy price.

[David Gura]

If Nasrallah destroyed Lebanon, then Naim Qasim will also ruin it. Again, Ambassador, we see this kind of renewed focus on Lebanon and Israel claiming there's no sort of territorial claim to Lebanon. What do you make of the way that this war is moving again into that country, not just in Iran, but but into Lebanon as well?

[Tom Nides]

I don't know if you've been to Israel, and I'm sure some of you guys, certainly viewers are watching this. You know, Lebanon shares a border with Israel, as you know, and it's right in the northern border. It's a huge risk. And certainly Hezbollah has shown to be a terrible actor. Again, a proxy of the Iranians. And I think, you know, we've seen, you know, it's eight months ago, a lot of intense fighting to diminish Hezbollah. You have a leader now in Lebanon who the president of the United States has met with. I think ultimately this is going to be continued to be a huge area of friction. Israel believes that Hezbollah has not been destroyed. It certainly hasn't been dismantled. They've been weakened. And certainly the state sponsor of their terrorism, which is Iran, has been weakened, but it's a huge threat to Israel. And so listen, I for one have been a big advocate of obviously strengthening the president of Lebanon to attempt to try to make these sectarian things come together. But it's hugely problematic for the Israelis and certainly those Israelis who are l in the northern part of the country.

[Christina Raffini]

I want to shift a little bit and ask you, because you were an ambassador, because you were in the State Department, your perspective on the consular part of this. There has been a lot of criticism that the US did not properly warn Americans in the region, its allies in the region, and did not have a plan, even if you needed to keep that as a close hold, not to telegraph the attacks there didn't seem to Be a fast rollout plan to evacuate Americans and out of the region. You know, we had that one authorized departure for Tel Aviv, but I didn't see them for other places. And other places around the region, Qatar, uae, Bahrain have all been hit really hard. We've got Americans who are trying to get out. The State Department now has organized charters. But what is your response to that initial response from the State Department and whether they should have done more or better to get folks out faster?

[Tom Nides]

Listen, I, you know, I can't sit around and second guess. I was a deputy secretary of state and I was ambassador to Israel. I don't think that there's people at the State Department that are reluctantly trying to communicate with people. I think, listen, it's complicated. You're in a military operation. Happens, it happens quickly. As you know, the rules are very quick. If once the State Department says to the embassy staff that they should depart, they then have to make sure that any American who wants to leave. So it can't be a double.

[Christina Raffini]

And that notice has to be public for that reason.

[Tom Nides]

Yes, I think there's nobody. They'll be, yeah, they'll be. The people will step back. I think that again, I'm not here to be, you know, being. Trying to be overly critical because it's really, really complicated. The men and women who work at the State Department, the career people, want to do the right thing. They try to. Getting charters in is not simple to do, especially when the airspace is complicated. So I just, I think everyone needs to. Again, I, believe me, I have been stuck there when rockets, it's really scary. I mean, the Emirates and the Saudis and the Kuwaitis and the Qataris are seeing something that they probably in most of these people's lives have never witnessed. Listen, sadly, I, you know, I've, I'm talking to my friends every day who are sitting in bunkers 4, 5, 8, 10 times a day in Israel. I, I don't think it's because they're used to it. They like it. So I think the region is getting a little bit of feeling what. What, sadly, what Israel has been through for a long, long time and they don't like it. And obviously, hopefully they're getting. Those Americans are there because it is scary sitting in a house. I don't think people understand how frightening it is. And especially in places not in Israel where they don't have bomb shelters, where drones are flying over your head. It really haven't been there. It's not pleasant and you do not get used to it.

[David Gura]

I want to draw more on your experience in the State Department. So, beyond you just being the ambassador to Israel, but the role that you've played there, as you look at the level of diplomatic engagement with other countries as all of this unfolds. So it does seem like this is very much a mission of the US and Israel at this point in time. And we saw yesterday kind of back and forth between Keira Starmer, the UK Prime Minister, and President Trump. President Trump suggesting that the UK shouldn't join wars after we've already won them. We saw kind of muted statements from European officials here.

[Christina Raffini]

What should be Spain.

[David Gura]

Yes. Yeah. What should be happening on the diplomatic track at this point in time, as the military conflict continues? What do you think the US should be doing, Israel should be doing to sort of get more allies onto its side as this war continues?

[Tom Nides]

As you guys, as I said at the beginning, you know, foreign policy is quite messy. It's just not. It's not, you know, it does not follow a straight line because things happen and unintention. A couple of things that are interesting if you step back and look at this. First of all, I think the Iranians decision to attack Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. QUAINT CLATTER Was a massive mistake because, you know, as I say, your enemy of your enemy is your friend. And they certainly have galvanized the rest of the Middle east as it relates to how bad actors the Iranians are. That's number one. Number two, the President's going to need allies, and not only just the Middle east, he's going to need European allies. Because if this drags out, you know, obviously there's going to be all sorts of needs for both airspace and supplies and importance of that. And I like to remind people, you know, the European countries are fighting a war against Putin and what's going on in Ukraine? I mean, we've. We've sort of, you know, you guys aren't talking about what's going on in Ukraine. This Ukraine thing is just, you know, sadly, just went to its fourth year. So you have a lot of things going on right now. And, you know, you need, you know, when I was, you know, working at the State Department, you. You need friends. You need friends in good times and you certainly need friends in bad times. And so we're to see ourselves. I'm sure that the Secretary Rubio and the Trump guys are reaching out to these allies all the time and trying to get their help. But Your point is 100% correct. You need allies in times of peace, and you definitely need allies in times of war.

[David Gura]

Tom Nides, who is the US Ambassador to Israel, joining us on this Sunday morning.

[Christina Raffini]

Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend, right after this.

[IBM Representative]

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[Senator Mike Rounds]

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[David Gura]

I want to turn now to the junior senator from the state of South Dakota. That is Mike Rounds, who sits on the Senate Armed Services and the Senate Intelligence Committees. And let me just start with, with Iran, if I could on this Sunday morning. Senator, thank you very much for being here. We have heard so many different rationales for the US Pursuing this war with Iran. And I'm curious, if a constituent were to approach you and ask why we're doing this, what would your response be? Nine days into this, into this, this war.

[Senator Mike Rounds]

Thanks for the opportunity. And we've actually had constituents, I'm right back in Pierce, South Dakota this morning. And yesterday at coffee, one of the coffee clutches that we try to stop in and say hello at, one of our constituents asked exactly that, what's going on? And was this the right time to make this move? And my message was, I don't know that there's ever a right time, but in some cases, as you start to gather your intelligence and you see what your adversaries are doing, they have a say in it is. Well, in this particular case, we knew that while the nuclear facilities had been really significantly disrupted, that Iran was still looking at other things, including going back in and getting the nuclear supplies. The uranium that has already been developed, that doesn't go away, it's simply buried the second piece on it. And probably the more important pieces right now is that they had continued to increase their supplies of short term and intermediate ballistic missiles and a huge number of drones, and they were building them very rapidly. And the question was, as long as their air defenses had already been taken down significantly during the 12 Day War, was this the appropriate time to actually go back in and take out those other items? But there's one more piece in the middle of it. There had been diplomatic talks going on, but in the background we know what their purposes are. I mean, we've got very good intel and we know that even though they were publicly talking about diplomacy behind the scenes, this was simply to delay. And they had no intentions, no intentions of making a deal with regard to their nuclear activities in the future. They were not going to give up the opportunity to make a bomb. So number one, at what point is there a good time to have a conflict? There's never a good time, but there are better times than others. And the Longer we waited, the more of their offensive capabilities that would inflict lots of damage on our bases in the Middle east and on our allies, while at the same time we weren't building our defensive capabilities as fast as they were building their defensive capabilities. It takes time for us to take some of our more complicated missile systems and to develop them.

[David Gura]

Senator, just to interrupt. Do you have a good sense of

[Senator Mike Rounds]

opportunity was there, but we needed to do something.

[David Gura]

Do you have a good sense from the administration about what they're thinking when it comes to timeline? Because just as there's been varying rationales for this, there's also been kind of mixed messages about how long this administration is preparing to be engaged in this war.

[Senator Mike Rounds]

I don't think any of us are expecting an extended long term engagement, but remember, we're now just what, eight days into this conflict, and so far our plans appear to be going as scheduled with regard to taking out their defensive capabilities. And now we're working on the offensive capabilities using some of our additional equipment that are less or that are perhaps not as capable. In other words, we can use F22s, we can use F35s, and in doing so, it's really tough for them to find us and to shoot us down with those types of equipment and with our missile systems that we can use to basically go in and take out their sensitive, their communications and their defensive capabilities. When that happens now, we can take some of our other heavier equipment, our B1s, our B52s and so forth, and they can come in and really do strategic strikes throughout the country to take out more of their capabilities, which includes their ability to, to actually make the drones and so forth.

[Christina Raffini]

Senator, I want to ask you about what you're just talking about, these coffee meetings, talking to your constituents. And the President was asked on Air Force One in that same gaggle we keep playing, if he was concerned about gas prices, and he said he wasn't. So I'm wondering, when you talk to your constituents, when you talk to Americans who are really feeling economic pressure, are they worried about it and are you worried about it for them?

[Senator Mike Rounds]

Well, I, I think when this, when this started, we knew that there would be a spike because it does impact an area of the world where 20% of the fuel or the oil that's developed is moving through the straight Hormuz every day. And so you've got to be concerned about it. But did we know that the prices would go up? Yes. The question is, is was there ever going to be a better time in which to take on this operation. And was there any chance that we would ever be in a position to where it wouldn't have to be taken care of?

[Christina Raffini]

And so you support the president taking

[Senator Mike Rounds]

this action to do it?

[Christina Raffini]

Sorry, I spoke over you. So you support the president taking this action at this time?

[Senator Mike Rounds]

Oh, definitely. No question. Look, the president had to make a tough decision. This is the right call at the right time. We know that prices are going to go up for a period of time. But once we've secured the Strait of Hormuz again, and once that oil starts to move through once again, then prices will begin to stabilize. And at some point in the future, as there is clear evidence that we've taken out their ability to attack that shipping, then the price will start to not only stabilize, but it will start to come back down. We're eight days into this. We knew this was going to be tough, but we also know that it's the right thing to do. Right time. The Iranian regime that's in power today has no intentions of giving up their offensive capabilities. And they clearly were working at becoming more of a threat to their neighbors in the Middle east and clearly a threat to U.S. interests.

[David Gura]

Senator, let me ask you about your appetite for potentially a long war, potentially an expensive war. So we have not heard the president say definitively there will be no boots on the ground ever in Iran. I'm curious your reaction to that. And then also you're back in South Dakota, but what do you expect the conversation is going to be like among your colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee about the prospects of an emergency defense spending package as a result of this?

[Senator Mike Rounds]

Yeah. First of all, the President is correct. When he does not commit to never doing something. In other words, you never take away options that then gives your adversaries the opportunity to take advantage of that. So you never take away an option. And the President is correct in that with regard to that. It doesn't mean he's going to send troops in, but he never takes away the option. That's important. Second piece on this. Yeah. Look, we know that these are expensive. The question is, is if we can get in now and get this done in a fairly short period of time. It would be less expensive now than if we would have delayed it and allowed the Iranians to continue to develop their offensive capabilities in that region. So right time, never a right time, but this is a better time than if we would have waited another month, two months, three months, and then had to have gone in and found even more offensive capabilities that we would have had to have addressed.

[Christina Raffini]

But with the President refusing to rule out the possibility of troops on the ground and, you know, going to Dover this weekend to greet those US Casualties already, casualties coming back from the war. When you look at the America first agenda, you have to be getting at least some inkling of concern from constituents, from supporters of the president, how this is helping them and their families. If we're looking at U.S. casualties and higher prices in the U.S.

[Senator Mike Rounds]

yeah. Look, number one, like I say, nobody ever wants to go into a war. But sometimes the responsibility of the President is to defend the United States, and that requires judgment about what the right time it is to bring troops in. We never want to see our young men and women get into a fair fight. We always want them to have the advantage.

[Christina Raffini]

But is this worth it? What is the President trying to do here? And is it worth American lives?

[Senator Mike Rounds]

It's not a matter of being worth it. It's a matter of at what point do you take out a major threat to the United States and to the stability throughout the Middle East? And right now is the right time to take on the Iranians and to take out their capabilities before they develop them even more. And so, look, I was governor here in South Dakota for eight years during the time in which we were sending young men and women off to war. I went to 31 funerals. There is no leader out there that wants to go to funerals, but there is an obligation to recognize the threat of the loss of life for these young men and women. And there is no such thing as a young man or a woman that dies in battle where you don't affect young families. By definition, they're young. They're warriors. This is not taken on lightly. It's a matter of judgment and whether or not this is the right time, long term, to protect U.S. interests. I think the President made the right decision knowing full well that it was a very serious decision. And the threat of the loss of life for young men and women was there. Senator, that's the reason why you have a President that looks at the big picture and at what the right thing is to do for our country long term.

[David Gura]

Senator, you've talked a lot about our efficacy in striking sites within Iran, military sites in Iran. There is some concern and controversy surrounding a bombing of an elementary school, a girls elementary school in Iran on the first day of the war. Let's take a listen to what the President had to say to a reporter on the plane yesterday about. About that.

[Christina Raffini]

Based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran.

[Senator Mike Rounds]

Is that true, Mr. Hickset? It was Iran who did that. We're certainly investigating, still investigating, but the

[David Gura]

only side that targets civilians is Iran. And that assessment that this was done by Iran runs counter to what news organizations, including the New York Times have put together. Looking at all of this visual evidence, I'm curious, sort of how you see this proceeding from your vantage on the Armed Services Committee. Do you anticipate hearings? Are you confident in that investigation that's going to take place by the Pentagon here in the minute we have left?

[Senator Mike Rounds]

Yeah. Number one, nobody in the United States targets civilians. We just simply, we don't do that, and particularly children. Iran does.

[Christina Raffini]

So do you think it was an accident?

[Senator Mike Rounds]

Terrorist organization? Don't know for sure what happened right now. Excuse me. What we do know is that we do a better job of actually laying out what actually does happen once we complete an investigation. We don't know whether that was sitting right next to a very sensitive military site, whether or not the Iranians built something right next to a school with the intent of trying to protect that military site. So let us do the investigation. Let us lay this thing out. The one thing that you do know is that in the United States, we will do a good job of looking at it. But most importantly, we do our best with our strategic weapons systems, with our very capable smart weapon systems to avoid doing damage. But when you have this type of a conflict, unfortunately, there are times in which civilians are hit. We don't like it, we don't want it.

[Christina Raffini]

Thank you, Senator.

[Senator Mike Rounds]

Sometimes it happens very unfortunately.

[David Gura]

Senator, thank you very much. That's Senator Mike Browns joining us from South Dakota on this Sunday morning.

[Christina Raffini]

Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend, right after this.

[IBM Representative]

The thing about AI for business, it may not automatically fit the way your business works. At IBM, we've seen this firsthand. But by embedding AI across hr, IT and procurement processes, we've reduced costs by millions, slashed repetitive tasks, and freed thousands of hours for strategic work. Now we're helping companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business.

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[Senator Mike Rounds]

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[Christina Raffini]

Welcome back to Bloomberg this weekend. I'm Christina Raffini here with David Gura. It is International Women's Day and as we were talking around the newsroom about who some of the toughest, coolest women were out there, these two guests are who we thought of. They not only shared a podium, they are both mothers of young children, something that in previous decades would have ruled them out of medical contest.

[David Gura]

We're talking, of course, of Kaylee Humphries and Elana Myers Taylors of the US Women's Bobsled Team. Let's take a listen.

[Christina Raffini]

Elana, I want to start with you. First of all, who do you have there? I want to thank you for being with us and just talk about this is not your first Olympics, but why it meant so much to be on top of that podium again and to have your family with you.

[Elana Myers Taylor]

I have my son here, Noah, and he is very excited so he's trying to press all my computer keys and everything. But the real reason it was so exciting is because they're my Motivation. My kids, both of them, my older. My older son, Nico, who's 6, and my youngest son, Noah, who's 3, they're my motivation for continuing in the sport. They're both deaf. And I just wanted to show them that regardless of what the world tells you, you can go after your dreams and you could pursue them. And fortunately for me, ended at a gold medal.

[Christina Raffini]

I mean, that's so amazing because for so long, first of all, it was, women can have it all. And then it was maybe women can't have it all. And then. But there's this idea that maybe women can have both. And can you talk a little bit about Kayleigh? What the difference is between that, like, maybe we can't have everything, but you can be a mom and be a badass Olympian at the same time.

[Kaylee Humphries]

I think for a lot of years, especially growing up in a very male dominated sport, you know, you always get told as soon as you hit 40, it's done. As soon as you become a mom, your body's never going to be the same. And there's all these misconceptions. And a lot of my career, I've had a lot of people, you know, say that I couldn't do things, place a target on my back. It was never going to happen. And so believing in yourself, believing in what's possible and dreaming big is a huge part that I think Alana and myself have always done. And so to be able to stand on that podium, you know, for me, to be able to earn two medals at this Olympics, to know that I did it, you know, a year and a half postpartum, there was a lot of doubt even in my own mind. But I wanted to go out there, put my best foot forward. I had a great team surrounding me, believing in me and what was possible. And, you know, Alana and I were able to get it done and be able to show everybody that because you're a mom, because of, you know, whatever limitations people want to place upon you, you know, if you dream big and work hard, you can make anything happen.

[Christina Raffini]

Alana, I want to ask you, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is correct. You have the most medals for a black athlete in the Winter Olympics in history, correct?

[Elana Myers Taylor]

Yes, that's correct.

[Christina Raffini]

I mean, we could just mic drop at that and leave it there. I would literally tell that to everyone I met, from, like the grocery store to the post office. But one of the other moments that I thought was so amazing is, you know, you guys are both in your 40s too. So not only are you moms, but you are on the older end of spectrum for people who are doing the Olympics. And that was a big story this year, too, was older athletes coming back and proving they've still got it. What was it like to know, as a mom of two kids, as a woman in her 40s, that you were standing there on top of that podium with yet another gold medal around you, your neck?

[Elana Myers Taylor]

I mean, that's the thing. It took me two kids and almost 20 years to finally win a gold medal. You know, I've been fortunate to win medals before, so to finally win a gold at this age and having two kids, when it's improbable, when it's against all odds, was really cool. And it just goes to show you, like, I am a big proponent of the village I've had around me, and I've had a lot of great people, whether it's nannies, whether it's my husband. My kids, for the most part, are behind our dreams.

[Christina Raffini]

Listen, we're talking about the real.

[Kaylee Humphries]

This is perfect.

[Christina Raffini]

Yes.

[Elana Myers Taylor]

You know, it's just been a journey from start to finish. But I think it's really cool. That shows that if you're given the right support system, if you have the right supports, there's no limit to what women can accomplish, regardless of the age, regardless of how many children they have. But I just want to emphasize it does take a village, and it does require a lot of support. I think we need to just do more as a society to make sure women are supported at all stages of life.

[David Gura]

Kayla, let me ask you lastly, just about, like, one part of that village, and that is you guys as teammates, and, like, what conversation exists about what you all are going through, these big moments in each other's lives, and how you're thinking about that particular part of the village, the team itself, figuring all of this out.

[Kaylee Humphries]

Yeah. Alona and I have been fortunate. We've shared five Olympic podiums together, so most of our career has been on the Olympic podium together. Just like any athlete's journey, you have an individual path. And I think motherhood is no different. My path is different than Alana's path. You know, we're similar, yet very different, and in a lot of aspects. But I think for me specifically, and I hope Alana can say the same, you know, we've really pushed each other. I think when it comes to motherhood, you know, she's a little farther ahead than I am. Her kids are a little older. But there were. There were questions, you know, what happens if your kid has to go to the hospital? What happens when you're on tour and this happens? And so I've been able to. And she's been gracious enough to kind of fill me in on what happens, having been in that side before. And then there's, you know, the sports side of things. And I get to be the athlete I am because she motivates and pushes me to be the best because she's working super hard to beat me and vice versa. There are times, you know, when I win a race by a hundredth of a second and she's won a race by a hundredth of a second. And so we push each other to be the best. I know she's out there working, working every day. And I think that's what makes us so successful on Team USA as a whole that we can be on the podium for five Olympics in a row together. Because, you know, we've got great support as a whole within USA Bobsled and Team usa, but we really push each other to be the best version. I know she's out there working hard, I'm out there working hard. Neither of us can relax really when it comes to the competition piece, but at the end of the day, we know that we're supported with our team and our team of teams, and that's really what elevates us as a nation compared to the rest of the world.

[Christina Raffini]

It takes a village. Sometimes it's an Olympic village, sometimes people we have around you. Thank you both.

[David Gura]

Thank you very much.

[Christina Raffini]

Noah, I don't know if you can see me.

[Senator Mike Rounds]

Thank you.

[Christina Raffini]

We appreciate you being with us.

[Chase for Business Narrator]

Bye, guys.

[Tom Nides]

Bye.

[Senator Mike Rounds]

Bye.

[Christina Raffini]

Thanks for joining us on today's Bloomberg this Weekend podcast. Don't forget to tune in live for the show every Saturday and Sunday morning starting at 7am Eastern.

[David Gura]

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