The Strategy Behind Israel’s Killing of Two More Iranian Leaders

0:00Anat Peled:Hey, this is Jessica Mendoza, host of The Journal podcast, our show about money, business and power. If you're looking for more deeply reported stories like we share every day, consider becoming a subscriber to The Wall Street Journal. Visit subscribe.wsj.com slash thejournal, all lowercase, to subscribe now.

0:22Anvee Bhutani:In the latest on Iran, a top U.S. official resigns over the war, while Israel continues its strategy of taking out top enemy leadership with the killing of Iranian security chief Ali Larajani.

0:34Anat Peled:While this is a strategic military achievement, it's just not clear that it's going to move the needle in terms of regime change.

0:41Anvee Bhutani:Plus, the Senate kicks off debate on a contentious voter ID bill pushed by President Trump. And finance bros say, hands off my Bloomberg terminal, even when AI claims to do the same thing for less. It's Tuesday, March 17th. I'm Alex Oseleff 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.

1:08Anvee Bhutani:The top U.S. counterterrorism officials said today that he had resigned over his concerns about the war with Iran. Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, posted a screenshot of his resignation letter, adding that he could not support the war and that, quote, Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. He also said that the U.S. had started the war because of pressure from Israel. It's the first significant departure from the Trump administration due to the conflict. When asked about it by reporters in the Oval Office today, President Trump said that Kent's assessment was wrong.

1:40Anat Peled:When I read his statement, I realized that it's a good thing that he's out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it.

1:55Anvee Bhutani:Meanwhile, in Iran, the country's rulers have unleashed a new crackdown against domestic dissent. In an effort to hold back the risk of an uprising, security forces are using fear to keep a tight grip on the streets. Armed men ride around on motorcycles brandishing their weapons to intimidate people and have set up checkpoints where they routinely stop and search cars. At least 500 people have been arrested since the start of the war. And on the topic of the country's leadership, on this morning's show we mentioned that Israel announced today that it has killed Iranian security chief Ali Larijani.

2:28Anvee Bhutani:Israel also said that in a separate strike, it killed Golom Reza Soleimani, head of the country's repressive besiege militia. Those two deaths are the biggest hit to the country's leadership since Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the beginning of the war. It's also the latest example of Israel's strategy of killing the leaders of enemy organizations in an effort to weaken them. WSJ reporter Anant Pelled joins me now from Tel Aviv. Anant, who was Larijani? What was his reputation as a leader?

2:56Anat Peled:Yeah, so Larijani was the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and he had a very prominent role in the regime. He oversaw the violent crackdown of anti-government protests in January that left thousands dead. Interestingly, he also had a reputation, diplomats talked about this, of being also a bit pragmatic, more moderate compared to, you know, other people in the regime and someone that could talk to the West.

3:22Anvee Bhutani:So just thinking about Israel's strategy here, how does taking out the leadership advance Israel's war goals?

3:29Anat Peled:Yeah, so Israel's gone about this strategy in several other arenas. We've seen this in Gaza with Hamas. We've seen this in Lebanon with the Hezbollah militant group. Those are both proxies or allies of Iran. While this is a strategic military achievement, in the long term, the problem is these groups are still standing. Hezbollah is shooting at Israel still. It joined the war with Iran. Iran's leadership planned for a war in which many would be killed and had prearranged replacements ready to step in. Analysts do tell us that it It could increase the paranoia of leaders who know they are walking around with a target on their back because Israel said they will continue to go after leadership, political and military leadership.

4:10Anat Peled:It could also maybe complicate communications. As people become more nervous to communicate, it could have results of degrading the regime and making decision making harder. It's just not clear that it's going to move the needle in terms of regime change. And it actually has the risk of someone even more radical or more hardline could step in.

4:29Anvee Bhutani:And how does this align with the U.S.'s war goals as we understand them?

4:34Anat Peled:Both Israel and the U.S., they opened the war with speeches evoking regime change and talking about the Iranian people taking to the streets to topple the regime. What we've seen since then is that both Israel and the U.S. have tempered expectations about that publicly and have focused more on degrading Iran's military threat. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has still called on Iranians to rise up, but the assessment is the conditions are not there yet. And the exit strategy of this war is not clear.

5:05Anvee Bhutani:That was WSJ reporter Anad Pellet. Thanks, Anad.

5:09Anat Peled:Thanks for having me.

5:15Anvee Bhutani:And in other international news, Pakistan launched airstrikes against Afghanistan overnight. The Taliban government and an international aid group said that the strikes hit a drug rehab center and other locations, killing hundreds of civilians. Pakistan has denied hitting the clinic, saying that it carried out precision strikes that destroyed militant support infrastructure and ammunition storage facilities. There has long been a conflict between the two countries. In late February, Pakistan said it was in a, quote, open war with Afghanistan. Coming up, today's market moves and why having President Trump's backing may not be enough to make a voter ID bill into law.

5:52Anvee Bhutani:That's after the break.

6:14Anat Peled:real conversations with the people that lead them. If you're looking for more news and insights that bring you inside the C-suite, consider becoming a subscriber to The Wall Street Journal. Visit subscribe.wsj.com slash bold names to subscribe now.

6:43Anvee Bhutani:Today, the Senate is kicking off debate on new voter eligibility legislation that President Trump has pushed hard for. The Save America Act would require Americans registering to vote to provide in person to an election official documents that give evidence of their citizenship, such as a birth certificate or U.S. passport. The legislation has already passed the House, but it's unlikely to pass in the Senate because Democrats oppose it. Journal reporter Anvi Bhutani joins me now from the Senate Press Gallery. Anvi, what's in the Save America Act and why has it been so contentious?

7:14Anat Peled:This bill is contentious primarily because widespread voter fraud, as alleged by President Trump, has largely been disputed. A lot of studies have found non-citizen voting to be rare, and there are millions of Americans that lack the necessary documentation to prove their citizenship. So Democrats have estimated that it's going to lead millions of Americans not voting or finding it harder to vote. The legislation also includes creating criminal liability for any election officials that register voters that are non-citizens.

7:51Anvee Bhutani:As I mentioned, this bill is unlikely to pass because Democrats oppose it. Republicans are bringing it to the floor anyway. Why are they doing that?

7:59Anat Peled:Since before 2020, President Trump has talked about voter fraud and has wanted to crack down on that. And this legislation is his way to do that. Republican lawmakers have definitely been falling in line with President Trump and encouraging this legislation. There are some Republicans who are still wary of the Save America Act. One good example is Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. There are a lot of rural voters who have to sometimes take a plane to go into the county office to vote. And those folks would definitely face barriers if they had to first go in to prove their citizenship and then go in to vote.

8:39Anvee Bhutani:So today's vote was procedural. Now that it's passed, what happens next?

8:44Anat Peled:That will kick off debate on the SAVE Act, which could be a week or two weeks or even longer. And that's when individual senators will have the opportunity to also bring amendments to this legislation. And each amendment will be voted on individually, after which we'll see a vote on the final SAVE Act.

9:05Anvee Bhutani:Sounds like we'll be speaking to you again soon. But for now, thank you so much. That was WSJ reporter Anvi Bhutani.

9:11Anat Peled:Thanks for having me.

9:13Anvee Bhutani:And in Illinois today, there are primary elections for the governor, House, and Senate races. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, is running for a third term as governor. But he's also considered a possible candidate for the 2028 presidential election, and his political brand is at stake today. That's because he spent millions to boost Juliana Stratton, his lieutenant governor who is now running for Senate. His involvement has especially angered the Congressional Black Caucus, which is backing Representative Robin Kelly in that Senate race. Both Stratton and Kelly are black. The Senate candidate who's raised the most money, meanwhile, is current representative Raja Krishnamoorthy.

9:52Anvee Bhutani:Oil prices rose today after more attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East. Futures for Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose about 3 percent to more than$103 a barrel. But higher prices haven't yet taken a toll on people booking flights. Today, Delta and American Airlines raised their revenue outlooks, while JetBlue and Frontier Airlines lifted their unit revenue expectations. Delta said that there was healthy demand for corporate and leisure travel, both internationally and domestically. That demands help encounter the pain of higher fuel costs. Delta shares closed up 6.6 percent.

10:27Anvee Bhutani:Stocks overall ended the day higher. The Nasdaq led gains and finished up 0.5 percent. Energy shares were among the strongest performers, with ExxonMobil up 1 percent. In other corporate news, Arizona has sued the parent companies of prediction platform Kalshi for operating what the state said was an illegal gambling business without a license. Kalshi called the charges flawed. The National Association of Realtors says that the number of homes under contract in the U.S. rose 1.8 percent in February from the month before. The group's chief economist said this was likely due to greater affordability, but could be reversed if mortgage rates rise.

11:06Anvee Bhutani:The war in Iran has raised worries about inflation that could keep rates higher for longer. The U.S. now has more spas and gyms than stores selling actual stuff. That's according to data on retail leasing from the firm CoStar. Last year, service-based tenants, businesses like salons, spas and fitness studios, leased more space than retailers did for the first time ever. That suggests that Americans are spending more on services, while retailers need less physical space to sell goods because of e-commerce. And speaking of e-commerce, Amazon said today that it's expanding its one-hour and three-hour delivery services across the U.S.

11:44Anvee Bhutani:On offer will be household essentials, health and beauty items, and over-the-counter medications. The quick delivery comes with extra fees.

11:57Anvee Bhutani:And finally, people on social media over the past few days have been duking it out over a piece of business software. A series of viral posts claim that AI has created a worthy alternative to the Bloomberg Terminal, a computer system ubiquitous among professional investors. A new AI tool from startup Perplexity promises to do much of what the terminal does for$2 ,400 a year instead of the annual$30 ,000 that the terminal costs. On X, some users breathlessly said that Perplexity's new tool is the future and that, quote, Bloomberg is cooked. But traders and investment research teams say, you can pry my terminal from my cold, dead hands.

12:35Anvee Bhutani:WSJ tech reporter Isabel Busquets says Wall Street's obsession goes beyond the financial information the terminal offers.

12:42Anat Peled:Wall Street traders are obsessed with their terminals. This is a fascinating relationship. Some people say they spend more time on their terminal than they do with their spouse. Some people met their spouses on the instant chat feature on the terminal. everyone in the financial services industry is on it and you can message them at any time. I know of at least one person who had a wedding cake designed in the shape of a Bloomberg terminal. Another trader told me that using his terminal is like crack. These terminals are expensive. So when you get the chance to have one, it's a status symbol and it's a rite of passage.

13:23Anat Peled:And these people spend hours and hours and hours on it every single day. It's also the real-time information. They rely on that for everything for their jobs. So it's an important relationship. And I think the idea that AI could come in and displace it was sad and threatening to them.

13:42Anvee Bhutani:And that's what's news for this Tuesday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Pierre Bien-Aimé with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Osolow for The Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.

14:27Anvee Bhutani:Transcription by CastingWords Journal.

14:28Anat Peled:Visit subscribe.wsj.com slash take on the week to subscribe now.