Iran Strikes U.S. Military Base in Qatar. What’s Next?

Summary

WSJ What’s News Podcast Summary: "Iran Strikes U.S. Military Base in Qatar. What’s Next?"

Release Date: June 23, 2025
Host: The Wall Street Journal
Episode Title: Iran Strikes U.S. Military Base in Qatar. What’s Next?

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The latest episode of WSJ What’s News, hosted by Alex Osola, provides a comprehensive analysis of the recent missile strike by Iran on a U.S. military base in Qatar. The episode delves into the immediate reactions, potential geopolitical ramifications, impacts on global energy markets, shifts in the U.S. housing market, the declining presence of Chinese companies on American stock exchanges, and significant developments in the U.S. energy sector. Below is a detailed summary of the key discussions and insights from the episode.

1. Iran’s Missile Strike on Al Uddid Air Base in Qatar

Incident Overview

At [00:46], Alex Osola reports that Iran launched missiles targeting the Al Uddid Air Base in Qatar, a significant escalation in regional tensions. The U.S. military successfully intercepted all missiles, resulting in no casualties.

U.S. Response and Analysis

National security reporter Lara Seligman provides an in-depth analysis of the incident:

“It seems just from looking at the facts that it was a pretty measured, limited response to the strike that the US took over the weekend”
– Lara Seligman [02:20]

Seligman highlights that Iran launched 14 missiles, mirroring the number of bombs the U.S. dropped on Iran's nuclear facilities. This limited attack allows the U.S. administration flexibility to either de-escalate or respond further without significant losses, as no casualties occurred.

International Reactions

Several Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, condemned Iran’s actions. President Trump acknowledged receiving advance notice of the attack and expressed a desire for regional peace:

“Perhaps Iran can now proceed to peace and harmony in the region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”
– President Trump [02:00]

2. Impact on Global Energy Markets

Potential Closure of the Strait of Hormuz

At [04:46], investing columnist Spencer Jacob discusses the looming threat of Iran potentially closing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world's petroleum passes.

“A closure of the strait is the ultimate nightmare scenario for energy consumers, and especially those consumers in Asia that receive most of the shipments from the Middle East seaborne crude through that waterway.”
– Spencer Jacob [04:46]

Oil Market Reactions and U.S. Production Capacity

Jacob explains that while the closure would severely disrupt global oil supply and spike prices, the U.S.'s significant increase in oil production offers a buffer. President Trump's ability to ramp up U.S. oil production quickly could help stabilize prices:

“The US has become such a big producer of crude today. It provides a real cushion for the US economy and for US consumers.”
– Spencer Jacob [05:21]

Inflation Concerns

Higher oil prices could contribute to broader inflation, affecting everything from fuel costs to the price of goods and services. However, Jacob notes that central banks typically focus on core inflation, which excludes volatile energy prices:

“Energy feeds into everything. It feeds into the pump prices and also the cost of getting goods to us by ship, rail, truck, airplane tickets, things like that.”
– Spencer Jacob [06:12]

Despite initial volatility, oil futures stabilized quickly after the attack, suggesting market confidence in the U.S.'s ability to manage energy prices.

3. U.S. Housing Market Dynamics

Existing Home Sales Surge

The National Association of Realtors reported a 0.8% increase in U.S. existing home sales in May, exceeding expectations but maintaining levels near historical lows. High home prices and mortgage rates above 6.5% are contributing to longer market times.

Supply and Demand Imbalance

Real estate expert Nicole Friedman discusses the imbalance between available homes and buyer affordability:

“Basic supply and demand would tell you that when there's more sellers than buyers, prices should go down.”
– Nicole Friedman [07:49]

Friedman elaborates that economists are divided on the trajectory of home prices, with some expecting a slight national decline and others predicting regional variations, particularly in the South, Texas, and Florida. The market is seeking a new equilibrium to balance buyer and seller interests.

4. Decline of Chinese Companies on U.S. Stock Exchanges

Reduced Listings and Delistings

The podcast highlights a significant downturn in Chinese companies listing on U.S. stock exchanges. Since 2019, over 80 Chinese companies have delisted from U.S. markets, reducing their representation to less than 2% of the capitalization on the NYSE and Nasdaq.

Geopolitical Tensions and Regulatory Scrutiny

Reporter James Arady explains the factors behind this trend:

“The US-China relationship is probably the biggest issue here. These are two major trading countries, but they're also the two superpowers and they're at loggerheads over so much.”
– James Arady [09:55]

Arady points out that increasing U.S. regulatory scrutiny and suspicions about Chinese companies supporting the military have deterred new listings. Additionally, China's focus on developing its own markets, especially in Hong Kong, has further reduced the incentive for Chinese firms to seek access to American capital.

Impact on U.S. Investors

The decline limits U.S. investors' access to China's growing economy:

“The biggest impact on US Investors is that they don't really have access to the world's second biggest economy.”
– James Arady [10:44]

5. Other Notable Business Developments

Amrise’s IPO

Amrise, North America’s largest cement provider and the second-largest commercial roofing provider, debuted on the stock market with an expected market capitalization of over $30 billion. This move provides investors with a new avenue to invest in the construction sector while navigating around tariff threats from the Trump administration.

New Nuclear Power Facility in New York

New York is set to construct its first major nuclear power facility in over 15 years, testing President Trump's promise to expedite permitting for such projects. Governor Kathy Hochul announced plans to add at least 1 gigawatt of new nuclear power generation capacity, sufficient to power approximately 1 million homes.

“The New York Power Authority will determine the reactor's design and may pursue the project alone or in partnership with private entities.”
– Alex Osola [10:38]

6. Market Reactions

Following the news of the missile strike, major U.S. stock indexes responded positively:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: ↑ 0.9%
• S&P 500 & Nasdaq: ↑ ~1%

These gains occurred despite initial volatility, reflecting investor optimism amid geopolitical tensions.

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Conclusion

This episode of WSJ What’s News offers a nuanced exploration of the recent geopolitical tensions between Iran and the U.S., their broader implications on global energy markets, domestic economic sectors, and international business dynamics. Through expert analysis and insightful reporting, the podcast equips listeners with a thorough understanding of the current events shaping the financial and political landscape.

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Transcript

[Reba McEntire]

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[Spencer Jacob]

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[Alex Osola]

On average new for sale and rental listings. February 2024 through January 2025 Iran launches an attack at a US military base in Qatar.

[Reba McEntire]

It seems just from looking at the fact that it was a pretty measured limited response to the strike that the US Took over the weekend.

[Alex Osola]

Plus, investors brace for the possibility that Iran could close the world's main energy shipping artery, the Strait of Hormuz, and why Chinese stocks are leaving American exchanges. It's Monday, June 23rd. I'm Alex Osila for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM Ed of what's news, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. Officials said that Iran had launched missiles at the Al Udid Air Base in Qatar, where the US Has a large military presence, marking a major escalation in the regional conflict. Several Arab and other officials familiar with the situation said that Iran had warned Qatar before the attack. The US Military intercepted the rocket attack and there were no casualties. Iran's military claimed responsibility, saying in a statement by the secretariat of Iran's Supreme National Security Council that the number of missiles used in the operation mirrored the number of bombs used by the US in its attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. The Iranian regime's clerical leaders now risk widening a war with two militarily superior the US And Israel. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates issued statements condemning Iran's attack. President Trump said the US Received advance notice of the attack. Posting on social media, he wrote, quote, perhaps Iran can now proceed to peace and harmony in the region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same. Here to tell us more is national security reporter Lara Seligman. Lara, it seems like the White House is viewing this as a pretty measured retaliation, right?

[Reba McEntire]

It seems just from looking at the facts that it was a pretty measured, limited response to the strike that the US Took over the weekend you saw Iran launched. I believe it was the same amount of missiles as the US dropped bombs on the three nuclear sites over the weekend. So it was 14 missiles that they launched toward Audid Air Base which is the US's biggest military base in the Middle east, and it's in Qatar. It could have gone much bigger with this response. It could have targeted other US bases. There was initial reporting that they had also launched missiles at bases in Iraq. It looks like it was just Qatar. And not to mention the fact that the US military forces, along with the Qataris, actually shot down all the missiles. None of the missiles impacted. There were no U.S. casualties. And that's a key point because that gives an off ramp for President Trump for the US to decide to de escalate the situation instead of responding.

[Alex Osola]

Right. So how does the US plan to respond?

[Reba McEntire]

It's not clear fully the scope of the US response yet, but it seems like from rumblings and messages that we're getting that the Trump administration wants is planning to not respond to the attack initially. And President Trump is probably looking to use the situation to get back on track with the talks and negotiations for some kind of deal.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ national security reporter Laura Seligman. Thanks, Laura.

[Reba McEntire]

Thanks for having me.

[Alex Osola]

Oil prices fell today as Iran retaliated in a limited fashion against the us, easing fears that the conflict in the Middle east would roil energy markets. Investors are quickly analyzing the possibility that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial strip of water that connects the Persian Gulf to global markets and through which roughly 20% of the world's petroleum passes. Yesterday, Iranian state media reported that the country's parliament had approved a closure of the strait, but they added that the ultimate power to do so lay with the regime's top security officials. For more on what this could mean for the US and the world at large, I'm joined by WSJ investing columnist Spencer Jacob Spencer. Closing the strait would also hurt Iran, which is a major exporter of oil. And of course, it risks drawing the US further into the conflict. But if Iran decides to do this, what impact would that have on oil prices?

[Spencer Jacob]

A closure of the strait is the ultimate nightmare scenario for energy consumers, and especially those consumers in Asia that receive most of the shipments from the Middle east seaborne crude through that waterway. There's already been a partial restriction of trade through the Red Sea, which is the other regional waterway, a little bit less important by the Houthi militia that are armed by Iran. And so they. They indirectly control both of those choke points.

[Alex Osola]

This morning, President Trump posted on social media that he wants to keep oil prices down. How would that actually work?

[Spencer Jacob]

Well, he does have a few levers to pull, but the main lever that he has to pull is not something of his own doing, which is that the US has become such a big producer of crude today. And it's not just that the US produces a lot. And so that provides a real cushion for the US economy and for US consumers, but also the nature of shale. And the fracking technology that has unlocked these vast shale reservoirs works differently. It's more expensive and it's more labor intensive than a well that might be drilled in the Middle East. But it can be brought online very quickly in a matter of months. So you could, in a relatively short span of time, ramp up U.S. oil production because prices were high. So if prices stayed high for any longer period of time, the private sector would respond.

[Alex Osola]

You mentioned concerns for consumers. One of the impacts of higher oil prices would be potentially broader inflation. Right.

[Spencer Jacob]

Energy feeds into everything. It feeds into the pump prices and also the cost of getting goods to us by ship, rail, truck, airplane tickets, things like that. So it's a component of inflation, although it's one that central bankers tend to look past. They tend to focus on what's called core inflation. They ignore more volatile elements like food and energy because energy prices go up and they go down and it's unlikely that they would stay very high for very long. What we saw in the immediate aftermath of the attack, as soon as oil futures markets began to trade, they were up by 5%, then 3%, then 1%, then not even 1%. So the market calmed down pretty quickly following the attack.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ investing columnist Spencer Jacob. Thanks, Spencer.

[Spencer Jacob]

Thank you.

[Alex Osola]

You can subscribe to Spencer's daily Markets AM newsletter. We'll leave a link in the show. Notes. Major US Stock indexes rose on news of the Iranian missile launch after wobbling between small gains and losses in the morning, the Dow ticked up about 0.9% while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed roughly 1% higher. The National association of Realtors said today that U.S. existing home sales rose 0.8% in May from the prior month. Sales were better than expected, but held near historically low levels. Homes are sitting on the market longer because buyers are turned off by prices that hover near all time highs and mortgage rates that have been stuck above six and a half percent. Nicole Friedman covers the US Housing market for the Journal. She spoke to our your Money Briefing podcast about what the wide gap between what is available for sale and what buyers can afford could mean for the market.

[Nicole Friedman]

Basic supply and demand would tell you that when there's more sellers than buyers, prices should go down. And so that is the big question right now that everybody is watching is what's going to happen to home prices? And some economists are saying that they expect by the end of the year a slight decline in prices. Other economists are saying they expect declines in certain regions, definitely in the south and Texas and Florida, but maybe not a national decline. And so that market right now really just needs to find its new equilibrium. What is the price point that would kind of balance buyers and sellers? And this summer and fall is going to be really important to determine where that new normal is.

[Alex Osola]

To hear more from Nicole, listen to today's episode of youf Money Briefing. Coming up, why fewer Chinese companies are going public in the U.S. that's after the break. A once symbiotic melding of American capital with Chinese growth is unraveling. According to data provider wind, more than 80 Chinese companies have delisted their shares from US exchanges since 2019. Around 275 China based companies now represent less than 2% of the capitalization of shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. James Arity covers China for the Journal and is here to tell us more. So James, in 2014, Alibaba listed on the New York Stock Exchange. That was such a big moment for Chinese companies on U S based exchanges. What is different now?

[James Arady]

The Alibaba listing was almost like China hosting the Olympics. It was a major company coming to the market. And we have a very different environment today where the companies that are coming to the US to be listed tend to be very small. They're just not the best and the brightest the way Alibaba was several years ago.

[Alex Osola]

How much of this shift is down to the changing relationship between the US And China?

[James Arady]

The US China relationship is probably the biggest issue here. We've seen the US And China pull away from each other in so many different ways. These are two major trading countries, but they're also the two superpowers and they're at loggerheads over so much. It's just not in an environment right now that is very welcoming for Chinese companies. American policymakers are very suspicious of where the money is going in China. Is this money somehow supporting the Chinese military at the same time, China is trying to really build up its own markets, especially Hong Kong, when it comes to these bigger companies that would tend to come to the US as the.

[Alex Osola]

River of Chinese companies that are listing slows to a trickle. What is the impact on investors?

[James Arady]

The biggest impact on US Investors is that they don't really have access to the world's second biggest economy. And yes, China's economy is far slower than it was many years ago, but investors would like to have growth, and there continues to be growth in China, and it also continues to be a place where new wealth is created.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ reporter James Arady. Other companies are still going public in the US amrise, the biggest cement provider and second biggest commercial roofing provider in North America, is making its stock market debut today and is expected to have a market capitalization of $30 billion or more. Amrise is a spin off of the Swiss building materials company Wholesim. The move will offer a new way to invest in the construction business while largely avoiding the Trump administration's tariff threats to the industry. And we're exclusively reporting that New York intends to build a large nuclear power facility. It's the first major new US plant undertaken in more than 15 years and a big test of President Trump's promise to expedite permitting for such projects. Governor Kathy Hochul said in an interview that she had directed the state's public electric utility to add at least 1 gigawatt of new nuclear power generation, enough to power about 1 million homes. The New York Power Authority will determine the reactor's design and may pursue the project alone or in partnership with private entities. And that's what's news for this Monday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Anthony Banci with supervising producer Michael Cosmides. Additional support from Coleman Standifer. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.