WSJ What’s News: Where the Middle East Conflict Leaves Trump’s Foreign Policy
Release Date: June 13, 2025
The latest episode of WSJ What’s News delves deep into the escalating Middle East conflict, examining its ramifications on President Donald Trump's foreign policy, global markets, and emerging corporate trends in cryptocurrency. Hosted by Alex Osola and featuring insights from key Wall Street Journal reporters and columnists, the episode provides a comprehensive overview of the day's most pressing issues.
1. Escalation in the Middle East: Iran and Israel at Odds
Alex Osola opens the discussion by highlighting the severe tensions arising from Iran's retaliation against Israel's airstrikes. The conflict has intensified with Iran firing ballistic missiles into central Tel Aviv and northern Israel, marking a significant escalation never before witnessed by the Israeli Defense Forces.
- Dov Lieber, WSJ reporter on the ground in Israel, describes the harrowing situation:
“Over the past hour, we've seen a major escalation. Iran has sent three different salvos, each dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel... The savos keep coming, the third in just one hour.” (01:23)
As a result, the nation is on high alert, with citizens seeking refuge in bomb shelters amid continuous missile attacks. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned Iran’s actions, stating, “Iran had crossed a red line by firing missiles at populated civilian areas in the country.” (00:26)
2. President Trump’s Foreign Policy Under Scrutiny
The conflict places President Trump in a delicate position, challenging his long-standing campaign promise of being the "peace president."
Alex Leary, another WSJ reporter, elaborates on the implications for Trump's administration:
“This puts President Trump and his administration in a very tough position. They had tried for months to negotiate a deal with Iran and it didn't materialize.” (04:30)
Trump has urged Iran to reach a nuclear agreement, issuing a “60-day ultimatum” that coincided with the recent attacks:
“I told the other side, you have 60 days to make a deal. On the 61st day they attacked today.” (03:20)
This situation has exposed divisions within Trump's political base, particularly between those advocating for reduced international engagement and traditional Republican conservatives who favor a robust US presence in global affairs.
3. Market Turmoil: Stocks Down, Oil Prices Soar
The geopolitical tensions have had immediate repercussions on global markets. Alex Osola details the market's reaction:
- Stocks: Major US indices closed lower, with the S&P 500 down 1.1%, Nasdaq dipping 1.3%, and the Dow dropping approximately 1.8%.
- Safe Havens: Investors flocked to gold, which rose by 1.5% to a new record high, and the US dollar strengthened.
- Oil Prices: Brent crude futures surged by 7%, reflecting fears of a potential oil crisis reminiscent of the 1970s.
To provide deeper analysis, WSJ investing columnist Spencer Jacob comments:
“Whenever you have scary headlines coming, particularly out of the Middle East... Iran is a major crude producer. So any involving Iran, involving military conflict, obviously is going to get the market excited.” (07:04)
He further reassures that while oil prices have spiked, it's unlikely to mirror the drastic increases of past crises:
“A spike of a few days or a few weeks really has a pretty fleeting effect on inflation.” (07:42)
4. Corporate Ventures into Cryptocurrency: Walmart and Amazon’s Stablecoin Plans
Shifting focus from geopolitical tensions to financial innovations, the episode explores major corporations' interest in launching their own stablecoins.
Anamaria Andriotis, WSJ reporter, explains the motivations behind this trend:
“These large companies are looking at stablecoin... because of a bill, the Genius Act, which is widely looked at as a law that would create the sort of foundational groundwork for stablecoin to actually take off in the US.” (08:52)
The potential introduction of corporate stablecoins by giants like Walmart and Amazon aims to reduce dependency on traditional financial systems, thereby saving on transaction fees. However, this poses a significant threat to banks, which could lose a portion of their revenue from payment processing.
Anamaria adds:
“The biggest risk to banks should stablecoins become a reality in consumer to merchant payments is that banks would lose out on a portion of the revenue they're already receiving.” (09:48)
5. Additional News Highlights
The episode also covers:
- Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner Crash: Investigators have recovered the flight recorders, a crucial step in determining the cause behind the tragic incident that resulted in over 260 fatalities.
- President Trump’s Military Parade: Scheduled for the following day, the event has sparked nationwide protests organized by progressive groups under the banner of "No Kings Day." These protests aim to counteract what organizers view as Trump's overreach, with far-right factions threatening potential violent responses.
6. Looking Ahead: Upcoming Content
Listeners are teased with upcoming segments, including:
- Weekly Markets Wrap-Up: Analyzing the ongoing impact of current events on global markets.
- What’s News Sunday: A deep dive into the integration of artificial intelligence into the physical world and its economic implications.
Conclusion
In this episode, WSJ What’s News effectively captures the multifaceted impact of the Middle East conflict on global politics, US foreign policy under President Trump, and economic stability. Coupled with emerging trends in the corporate adoption of cryptocurrency, the podcast offers listeners a thorough analysis of the current geopolitical and financial landscape.
Produced by Pierre Bienname, with contributions from Michael Kosmides, Michael Lavalle, Aisha El Moussleem, Scott Salloway, Chris Inslee, and Falana Patterson.
Note: Timestamps are included to reference specific parts of the transcript for clarity.