U.S. Says It Has ‘Makings of a Deal’ With Iran

Summary

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WSJ What’s News (PM Edition)

Episode: U.S. Says It Has ‘Makings of a Deal’ With Iran
Date: May 28, 2026
Host: Alex Osola, The Wall Street Journal

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Overview

This episode delivers a brisk yet insightful tour of the day’s top stories worldwide, focusing on sensitive diplomatic progress in U.S.-Iran relations, shifting economic winds, corporate friction, energy sector developments, and the ways geopolitical tensions are reshaping life in Europe and the U.S. Host Alex Osola guides listeners through the headlines, with expert guests providing context on international negotiations, market movements, and the modern real estate landscape.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. U.S.-Iran Deal: On the Brink of Agreement

• Treasury Secretary Scott Besant announces significant progress: The U.S. and Iran are close to a deal to wind down the war.
• Deal terms required by the U.S.:
  • Iran must dispose of highly enriched uranium.
  • Iran must commit never to seek a nuclear weapon.
  • Full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
• The deal is unfinished: Iran signals more negotiation is needed before a final text emerges. If successful, this would only be "phase one" of a broader framework—talks would continue for two more months or longer.
• Presidential sign-off pending. President Trump has not yet approved the deal.

Notable Quotes:

• "We perhaps have the makings of a deal here."
  — Scott Besant (01:08)
• "President Trump is not going to make a bad deal for the American people."
  — Scott Besant (01:22)

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2. Corporate News Roundup

A. Railroad Merger Stalls

• The $72 billion Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger faces delays as federal regulators pause their review, citing a need for more information—endangering the timeline for completion.

B. Mango Founder Case Update

• Spanish billionaire and Mango founder’s son, Jonathan Andick, is accused of criminal responsibility in his father’s 2024 death. Andick disputes the allegations, attributing the fatal fall to a knee problem, not foul play.

C. BP Chairman’s Response to Ouster

• Albert Manifold, ousted BP chairman, accepts the board’s decision but rebuffs what he calls "lies" about his behavior after being accused of bullying and verbal abuse by whistleblowers.

"I accept the board's decision to remove me, but I do not accept, quote, that lies can be told about me."
— Albert Manifold (reported at 02:56)

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3. U.S. Oil Majors Eye Venezuela (Energy Sector)

• Post-Maduro Venezuela: With U.S. encouragement post-Maduro ouster, oil giants like ExxonMobil reconsider re-entry.
• Initial Hesitancy: Exxon CEO Darren Woods previously called Venezuela "uninvestable" due to poor legal and commercial conditions.
• Changing Tune: On May 1, Woods notes "wide-ranging efforts to make Venezuela into attractive investment opportunities." Exxon is in talks with Venezuelan officials — first time in 19 years.
• Obstacles:
  • Unclear contract terms, royalties, taxes.
  • Damaged infrastructure, power shortages.
  • High upfront capital spending required.

Guest Insight:
Colin Eaton, WSJ oil sector reporter

• Negotiations ongoing; significant hurdles remain.
• Venezuela's heavy crude is desirable for U.S. refiners.
• The country offers long-term oil opportunities, aligning with Exxon's view that oil remains central to the global economy.

Notable Quotes:

• "It's still not totally clear what the government take in some of these contracts will be in terms of royalties, in terms of taxes... Oil wells across Venezuela have fallen into disrepair after years of mismanagement."
  — Colin Eaton (04:32)

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4. Economic Data & Market Trends

• PCE Price Index (Fed’s preferred inflation gauge):
  • +0.4% in April (MoM), slower than previous month.
  • +3.8% YoY (Fed target: 2%).
• GDP Estimate: Slight upward revision for Q1.
• Bonds:
  • Surge in demand for ultra-short bond funds, reflecting investor caution on inflation.
  • Preference is for short-term stability over higher long-term returns.

Commentary:

"People are certainly more concerned about inflation right now than they were at the start of the year... Investors are averse to buying long-term bonds. They're afraid that returns... are going to get hurt by inflation."
— Scott Besant (07:27)

• Stock Markets:
  • Major U.S. indexes rose on hopes for U.S.-Iran deal; Nasdaq gained 0.9%.

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5. U.S.-Kenya Ebola Quarantine Arrangement

• The Trump administration establishes a 50-bed quarantine facility for Americans exposed to Ebola at Laikipia Air Base, Kenya.
• The arrangement draws criticism from Kenyan medical groups; official responses pending.

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6. Estonia’s Robust Defense Strategy (NATO, Russia Deterrence)

• Estonia is conducting nationwide defense drills to deter Russian aggression, fearing President Putin’s ambitions may extend beyond Ukraine.
• Defense Spending: Estonia to spend 5.4% of GDP on defense by decade’s end, the highest among NATO allies.
• Preparedness Measures:
  • Simulated military attacks and shelter planning in cities like Tartu (target: capacity for 100,000 people by 2028).
  • Emergency training for civilian officials—mayors to kindergarten directors.
  • Closer coordination with NATO and Western partners.

Guest Insight:
Robbie Grammer, WSJ National Security Reporter

"Estonia is preparing for war, but war isn't imminent and it's not inevitable... All in a way a deterrent signaling to Russia that you are ready for any sort of military incursion."
— Robbie Grammer (10:01, 09:07)

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7. “Mediterra”: The New NYC Luxury Property Trend

• After lawmakers taxed traditional pieds-à-terre (second homes), a rising trend emerges: luxury apartments bought by retirees returning for medical appointments—dubbed “mediterra.”
• Properties are typically on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, close to medical institutions; price tag: $2M–$10M with high-touch services.
• Minneapolis also popular for “mediterra” buyers due to proximity to the Mayo Clinic.

Notable Quote:

“It gives you access to everything in New York, including your doctors... they want to have a foothold in an area where they can have that access.”
— Jessica Flint (11:50)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------| | 00:18 | Headlines Overview | | 01:08 | U.S.-Iran Deal Details & Quotes | | 02:08 | Union Pacific/Norfolk Southern Merger | | 02:56 | Mango Case & BP Chairman’s Response | | 03:38 | ExxonMobil in Venezuela | | 04:32 | Colin Eaton Interview (Venezuela Negotiations) | | 06:35 | Economic Data & Bond Market Trends | | 08:13 | Stock Markets, U.S.-Kenya Ebola Arrangement | | 09:07 | Estonia’s Defense Readiness; Russia Context | | 10:01 | Robbie Grammer Interview (Estonia Strategy) | | 11:24 | NYC “Mediterra” Real Estate Trend | | 12:24 | Minneapolis “Mediterra” & Closing |

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• "We perhaps have the makings of a deal here." (Scott Besant, on U.S.-Iran negotiations, 01:08)
• "President Trump is not going to make a bad deal for the American people." (Scott Besant, 01:22)
• "If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it's uninvestable." (Darren Woods via excerpt, 03:41)
• "Venezuela is a huge resource that's now opened up more freely to the world." (Liz Santoni, 03:56)
• "Estonia is preparing for war, but war isn't imminent and it's not inevitable." (Robbie Grammer, 10:01)
• "It gives you access to everything in New York, including your doctors... they want to have a foothold in an area where they can have that access." (Jessica Flint, 11:50)

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Tone

The episode blends brisk business reporting with on-the-ground geopolitical analysis, aiming for clarity, conciseness, and occasionally understated urgency—a hallmark of WSJ News. Each subject is tackled with a focus on market and policy impact, relying on expert voices to elaborate or clarify the day’s developments.

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This summary captures all core topics, major insights, and the episode’s standout quotes, preparing anyone to discuss the latest in global news and markets without needing to listen in full.

Transcript

[Jessica Flint]

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[Alex Osola]

Treasury Secretary Scott Besant says the US And Iran are close to a deal to end the war. Plus why a tiny Baltic nation is training its citizens for a possible military crisis.

[Robbie Grammer]

Estonian officials say is this all in a way a deterrent signaling to Russia constantly that you are ready for any sort of military incursion and move over Petit Terror.

[Alex Osola]

The meta terror is all the rage in New York City real estate. It's Thursday, May 28th. I'm Alex Osa for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of what's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant told reporters today that the US And Iran are within reach of an agreement to wind down

[Scott Besant]

the war, that we perhaps have the makings of a deal here, besant said.

[Alex Osola]

The president has yet to sign off

[Scott Besant]

on it, however, again, everything depends on

[Alex Osola]

what the president wants to do and

[Scott Besant]

President Trump is not going to make a bad deal for the American people.

[Alex Osola]

Besant said. Iran must agree to dispose of its highly enriched uranium. He said the country must commit to never seek a nuclear weapon and Iran needs to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, meanwhile, has signaled that a final text of the agreement isn't ready. If it happens, the deal would be the first phase of a framework the US and Iran would continue to negotiate for another two months or more. In corporate news, a $72 billion railroad merger has hit a major snag. A federal regulator said today that it was pushing pause on its review of the deal between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. The regulator says it needs more information that puts the timeline for the deal in danger. A Union Pacific spokeswoman said the company is still confident that the board will make a ruling in the middle of next year, the same timetable that the railroad had projected earlier in Spain, an update on the Mango case. The billionaire founder of the fashion chain died in 2024 during a hiking trip with his son. Spanish authorities last week accused the son, Jonathan Andick, of being, quote, criminally responsible for his father's death. Andick is pushing back against those allegations. In a court filing today, he says that his father's fatal fall was likely the result of a knee problem. The filing also said there were no disagreements between father and son for almost a year before the death. And Albert Manifold, BP's chairman, who was fired earlier this week hit back at what he described as lies about his behavior. Manifold said today that he accepted the board's decision to remove him, but he does not accept, quote, that lies can be told. About Me the Journal has reported that BP received whistleblower reports that Manifold was bullying and verbally abusive towards staff. BP said today that it stands by its characterization of Manifold's behavior as unacceptable. Staying with the energy industry after the ouster of Nicolas Maduro in January, President Trump encouraged US Oil majors to go into Venezuela. One of those companies was Exxon Mobil. At the time, its CEO Darren woods was not very enthusiastic. Here's what he said at a meeting with President Trump and oil and gas executives almost a week after Maduro was captured by the US if we look

[Jessica Flint]

at the legal and commercial constructs and

[Scott Besant]

frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it's uninvestable.

[Alex Osola]

Now, though, Exxon may be changing its tune. On Exxon's most recent earnings call on May 1, Wood said there were wide ranging efforts to make Venezuela into, quote, attractive investment opportunities.

[Liz Santoni]

Venezuela is a huge resource that's now opened up more freely to the world. There are continuing, continuing work going on with the industry, with the Trump administration, with the government of Venezuela.

[Alex Osola]

The Journal has learned that Exxon is in talks with Venezuelan officials about returning to the oil rich country that would be its first time operating there in 19 years. But many of the challenges that have long prevented American companies from investing in Venezuela are still still there. Colin Eaton covers U.S. oil companies for WSJ and joins us now from Houston. Colin, where do these discussions stand between Exxon and the Venezuelan government?

[Colin Eaton]

So they're in negotiations, but there are all of these outstanding issues that need to be ironed out. It's still not totally clear what the government take in. Some of these contracts will be in terms of royalties, in terms of taxes. Companies like Exxon are also looking at the the infrastructure in Venezuela. There's power shortages, there are challenges with their roads, and some of the equipment that Exxon had used previously have sustained heavy damage. Over the past 20 years or so. Oil wells across Venezuela have fallen into disrepair after years of mismanagement and they would have to spend a lot of capital up front in order to get things going again.

[Alex Osola]

And we should note that when you reached out to Exxon for this story, the company declined to comment. But still, what you've laid out here are some pretty significant hurdles. Does it seem like Exxon will persevere in Venezuela anyway? Like, why might it be important for the company to be there.

[Colin Eaton]

It has heavy crude that is preferred by US Gulf coast refiners. But also these companies have been arguing for the past decade that oil and gas is going to continue to remain a big part of the global economy. And this is a place where, where there's a lot of oil to be drawn for many years.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ reporter Colin Eaton. Thanks so much, Colin.

[Scott Besant]

Thanks.

[Alex Osola]

Coming up, how do you keep Putin away from your borders? Estonia thinks it's figured it out. That's after the break.

[Liz Santoni]

The real challenge of AI isn't the pilot. It's what happens when organizations try to scale it across the enterprise and things start to break. In a new episode of techfluential, Cisco's Liz Santoni and former Humana CIO and Capital One executive Sam Deshpande is explore why AI needs a total redesign of how work gets done. They share how to move from experiment to transformation and build a culture that's ready for the challenge. Where technology and influence converge, new opportunities can emerge. That's techfluential, a podcast from Deloitte and custom content from WSJ.

[Alex Osola]

There's some layers of economic data for investors to digest today. First, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, that's the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.4% in April from the month before. That's a bit less than the previous month, which is a good sign. But from the year before it rose 3.8%. The Fed aims for PCE inflation of 2%. The Commerce Department also revised its estimate for GDP growth for the first quarter, saying the U.S. economy grew more slightly than previously thought. Bond yields pared earlier gains after the release of the data in bonds. Investors appetite for short term bond funds is the highest it's ever been, according to Morningstar. Ultra short bond funds, which typically mature in less than a year, posted their largest monthly inflows in March. Journal Markets reporter Jack Pitcher says that's a reflection of investors skittishness around inflation.

[Scott Besant]

People are certainly more concerned about inflation right now than they were at the start of the year. We're seeing that show up in bond markets and we're seeing people favor short term funds in part because they're stable. In exchange for that relative price safety, people are getting less returns on their money over the next year. Fixed income in general is supposed to play a safer role in people's portfolios and they're okay with that trade off. But right now, investors are averse to buying long term bonds. They're afraid that returns on those are going to get hurt by inflation. And when demand for bonds goes down, yields go up on new bonds. And ultimately that leads to higher borrowing costs for companies for the US Government. And that can reverberate throughout the economy.

[Alex Osola]

Meanwhile, major US Stock indexes today rose on hopes that a deal with Iran is in reach. The Nasdaq led the gains and ended up 0.9%. In news from the Trump administration, it's reached a deal with Kenya to establish a quarantine facility for Americans exposed to ebola. The the 50 bed unit, which will be located at the Laikipia Air Base, will be operational starting tomorrow. The arrangement has drawn opposition from Kenyan medical groups. The Embassy of Kenya in Washington and Kenyan officials didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. And across the Baltic country of Estonia, preparing for potential war has become a part of everyday life. That might seem a little strange for a country that's not currently at war. But WSJ national security reporter Robbie Grammer says the drills and other preparations are an effort to deter Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

[Robbie Grammer]

Every official we've spoken to in NATO in Eastern Europe, in the Baltic region assesses that Putin's ambitions are not going to start and end in Ukraine. His ambitions are effectively to create a new buffer zone, a region where Russia has influence and Baltic states are in the crosshairs here. Estonia has plans to be one of the highest defense spenders per capita of GDP among any NATO allies by the end of the decade, spending around 5.4% of their GDP on defense. And that's a type of pattern that you were seeing from a lot of the Eastern European allies here, including Poland, including Romania, including those that border Ukraine or Russia in a way that you haven't seen among Western allies.

[Alex Osola]

Rabi spoke with officials during his recent trip to Estonia's eastern border.

[Robbie Grammer]

Estonia is preparing for war, but war isn't imminent and it's not inevitable. And local and national governments are preparing in a very sort of routine, matter of fact way for potential military contingencies. So when I was in Tartu, a city in eastern Estonia, the city planners there were effectively conducting exercises to simulate military attacks. They're hoping to have shelters for up to 100,000 people in the event of an emergency by 2028. They are working through training for everyone from kindergarten directors to city mayors for what happens in the event of a military crisis, how they coordinate with Estonia's military forces, how they would coordinate with NATO, how they would keep civilians safe. And the national government is, is really stepping up its defense spending and its coordination with other NATO allies, including the United Kingdom, including France, to help get the country ready for the possibility of war. And what a lot of Estonian officials say is this is all in a way a deterrent signaling to Russia constantly that you are ready for any sort of military incursion.

[Alex Osola]

And finally, there's been a lot of noise lately in New York City around the Pied a Terre, people's fancy second homes here, which state lawmakers passed a law yesterday to tax. Well, real estate. Experts say there's a new kind of property that's becoming popular. Call it the Mediterra. That is a property where people who left the city to retire can come back for doctor's visits. Jessica Flint covers residential real estate for the Journal and says this is a lifestyle play.

[Jessica Flint]

So it gives you access to everything in New York, including your doctors. You know, while warm, sunny beaches beckon, they just can't really replicate those relationships that they've had with their medical institutions for so long. So they want to have a foothold in an area where they can have that access. The Upper east side has a lot of medical density, so that is a prime target. The price range is usually kind of between 2 million and 5 million, extending up to 10 million. And they're looking for really highly serviced buildings, a lot of concierge service that just, just allow them the ease of being able to come and go.

[Alex Osola]

But Jessica says it's not just New York City that attracts the meta terror crowd. Minneapolis also has its fair share because it's a 90 minute drive from the Mayo Clinic. And that's what's news for this Thursday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Anthony Bansi and Danny Lewis with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.

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