WSJ What’s News - Battered Iran Signals It Wants End to Conflict With Israel

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

P.M. Edition for June 16. Iran has been sending messages to Israel and the U.S. signaling that it seeks an end to hostilities and new talks over its nuclear programs. WSJ security correspondent Benoit Faucon lays out what Iran wants in exchange. Plus, the Trump administration reversed its aggressive deportation policy late last week. We hear from Journal reporter Arian Campo-Flores on the pragmatic, economic reasons for the change. And the Trump Organization plans to launch a smartphone made in America later this summer. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Find an agent today at Desjardins.com slash business coverage. Iran signals that it wants an off ramp in its clash with Israel. Plus, the Trump Organization plans to launch a smartphone made in the US. And why President Trump suddenly backpedaled on his deportation tactics. We've heard from numerous businesses about the impacts that they're experiencing directly as a result of the raids and also the fear that the raids have generated

and that it prompted some workers to just stay home. It's Monday, June 16th. I'm Alex Osola 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. We begin this evening with the latest in the Middle East, where Iran and Israel carried out further strikes on one another. In Israel, three people were killed in a missile strike at the country's biggest oil refinery in Haifa. Videos showed plumes of smoke emanating from the site.

The same refinery was hit by a separate strike yesterday, causing a partial shutdown. But Israel has the advantage, with air superiority over the western part of Iran, including Tehran. Israel's military said it killed four senior Iranian intelligence officials in a single strike there on Sunday night local time.

And today, it struck buildings belonging to Iran's state-owned media company. The strikes came hours after the Israeli military said people in that part of the capital should leave. The blast seemed to be heard during a live broadcast. The blast seemed to be heard during a live broadcast. The attack eventually sent the TV presenter dashing off the set. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military had targeted, quote, the Iranian regime's propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority.

And the head of the UN atomic agency said today that the centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment site struck by Israel in recent days may have been completely destroyed. That makes it possible that all of the machines previously enriching uranium at the massive underground part of the site have been taken out. Meanwhile, Iran's leaders say they want to stop the fighting. We're exclusively reporting that Iran has been urgently signaling that it wants an end to the conflict and to renew talks over its nuclear programs. Middle Eastern and European officials say Iran has been sending messages to Israel and the U.S. via Arab intermediaries. WSJ security correspondent Benoit Fokhan tells us what Iran is seeking from

possible negotiations with the U.S. In a nutshell, they say they want peace and a peaceful nuclear program. The U.S. and Israel don't believe that their nuclear program, as it stands, is going to remain peaceful. So what they want is one thing, what they're getting is very different. Then to resume the talks would be something, obviously, that would happen if there is no hostilities. They do have conditions, which is number one, that the U.S. says clearly we don't agree with these strikes.

Also we would not be involved in the strike against Iran. So make it clear that it's not going to be a parallel process of the U.S. joining bombing on Iran on one hand and talking on the other hand. They can't have it both ways. That's basically the other hand. They can't have it both ways. That's basically the Iranian position. Speaking with reporters at the G7 summit in Canada today, President Trump urged Iran to return to negotiations

over the future of its nuclear program to end conflict with Israel. He said, quote, Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk and they should talk immediately before it's too late. A second U.S. carrier strike group is headed to the Middle East, and the US is sending more ships to help Israel defend against Iranian missiles. In Tehran, residents are fleeing the capital, carpooling and ride sharing to get out of the city.

For more, I'm joined by WSJ foreign correspondent, Stephen Kaelin. So Stephen, it sounds like from your reporting that the highways out of the city are pretty jammed. What does that seem like? Some of that is just because of the sheer volume. There's one major highway that is now only one way out of the city.

On top of that, some folks are running out of fuel on the way. There've been reported shortages, gas stations closed, so they're getting stranded and those cars are becoming obstacles and creating bottlenecks. There's also been reported accidents along the road. Obviously, it's a very stressful situation and many people haven't slept in days because the bombing is sort of around the clock. This afternoon, local Time of Spokesman for the Israeli military warned Iranians in a particular neighborhood of Tehran to evacuate, I guess anticipating more strikes. Is that

what the locals are responding to here or what is happening? This was the first really specific warning for a particular neighborhood, but people were already on the roads when the bombing started on Friday, but that's really picked up in the last maybe 24 hours. But these warnings that the Israeli military

is putting out there, a lot of them aren't really getting to the Iranian people because they have very limited internet access. The government in Iran has put limits on the speed of internet access. They're saying that's for cyber-defensive purposes to prevent hostile activity over the internet. But it's left a lot of Iranians without access to accurate information, even the most basic things like tweets from the Israeli military spokesman about where they're going to bomb next.

How are Iranian citizens thinking about this conflict? Are they kind of settling in for the long haul here or are they thinking it could just be pretty short lived? Folks we've talked to are not sure what to expect really. Many of them picked up the most important documents and some money and basic supplies and headed out of the city. It's not clear how long they're going to stay there. A lot of people are preparing to be away until this is over. Israelis have indicated over the weekend that they had about two weeks of operations planned. So it's really hard to tell how long this is going to last. That was WSJ foreign correspondent Stephen Kalin.

Thank you Stephen. Thanks for having me. U.S. stocks climbed today after the Wall Street Journal reported on Iran's wishes to end the conflict with Israel. The Dow rose three quarters of a percent, the S&P 500 was up about 0.9 percent, and the Nasdaq added roughly one and a half percent. Oil prices prices which had surged on Friday and over the weekend fell today. WTI crude futures dropped 1.7%

to under $72 a barrel. Coming up, how president Trump's deportation tactics collided with the US labor market. That and more of the day's headlines after the break. That and more of the day's headlines after the break. 1500s premium interior and advanced tech or Sierra HD's impressive power and capability, you'll have everything you need to get from work to play with confidence this season. Hurry in. Employee pricing is on for a limited time. Visit your local GMC dealer for details. Federal authorities have announced charges of murder and stalking against the man suspected of shooting two Democratic Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses on Saturday. Authorities captured 57-year-old Vance Luther Bolter yesterday following an intensive two-day manhunt, the biggest in Minnesota history. The state's acting U.S. attorney said Bolter

went to the homes of at least four elected officials with the intent to kill them. He said that it was hard to know what was motivating Boulter in terms of ideology. The suspect made his first appearance at a brief hearing in a federal courtroom in St. Paul today. The federal charges against him would give prosecutors the option to seek the death penalty, though it's not yet clear whether they will do so. Nations including Japan, Canada, and Mexico are eyeing the Group of Seven Summit in Canada this week as a chance to strike trade deals with President Trump

or at least build momentum to keep talking and ease tensions over tariffs. WSJ trade and economic policy reporter Gavin Bade said it might be difficult for Trump's team to complete the dozens of deals it pledged to by July 9th. It's looking less and less feasible as we get close to that deadline. And I think that the administration is a little bit crosswise on this right now. So we heard Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, he told Congress last week that they might extend that deadline for nations that are negotiating in good faith with them. And then we saw Trump kind of throw cold water on that

and say, oh no, that's July 9th's the deadline. It's tough to see which way this could go, but it's just become a lot more difficult for them to strike even a narrow tariff agreement than I think maybe they thought at the outset. So there's a lot of irons in the fire right now, and I think that they need a little bit more time before they can pull a few out.

Right now, no major smartphone manufacturer And I think that they need a little bit more time before they can pull a few out. Right now, no major smartphone manufacturer makes its products in the U.S. Well, the Trump Organization is saying it'll change that and do it in a matter of months. The company said today it'll launch a mobile phone service called Trump Mobile and plans to offer a U.S. built smartphone for $499 starting in August. On our Tech News Briefing podcast, WSJ Deputy Tech and Media Editor Wilson Rothman said the Trump Organization has a tough job on its hands. The thing about manufacturing phones in America is you have to have an infrastructure, you

have to have a workforce, you have to have things that you can't just snap your fingers or even throw $500 billion at. It's not a problem that can be solved just with money. It really is a decades-in-the-works kind of project. So the Trump Mobile T1 phone has specs that look as good or better than the best iPhones, but they're selling it ostensibly for $499, a little bit of a question mark on that. And then they did say the Made in America phone would be available August-September timeframe.

And we don't know where that would come from either. For more from Wilson, listen to tomorrow's episode of our Tech News Briefing Podcast. Earlier this month, the Trump administration ordered federal agents to intensify their deportation push. They arrested people at farms, restaurants, and hotels, sparking nationwide protests. Then late last week, the administration reversed its policy, saying arrests should focus on those with criminal backgrounds. One big reason for the reversal is economic.

Key industries rely heavily on workers living in the U.S. illegally. Ariane Campoflores is a staff reporter for the journal. Ariane, do we have a sense of the impact that these deportations have had on these industries so far? We've heard from numerous businesses about the impacts that they're experiencing directly as a result of the raids and also the fear that the raids have generated

and that have prompted some workers to just stay home. So it's a number of industries that have traditionally relied heavily on immigrant labor. Farms have had to cut back on their work in the fields. Meatpacking plants have had to dial back operations and are operating only at a fraction of capacity. Restaurants have had to shut down sometimes for days and have struggled to bring back workers. Construction sites that were raided have had to either wind down or delay their operations or really scramble to try to make up for lost workers.

It sounds like anecdotally, at least, is having quite a big impact. And then, of course, Trump reversed this policy. What was behind the reversal? Do we have a sense of who was pressuring him to make this change? Well, what we know is that the administration has come under significant lobbying. For instance, we know that farmer and meatpacking lobbyists have talked about the worker shortages that they are facing and how that could impact food prices. We know that the hospitality industry as well conveyed that they were already dealing with

labor shortages and that this was exacerbating them. So if in fact they stop conducting the raids and if that persuades some workers who were fearful of going to work to actually come back, that'll ease some of the pressures that these employers are facing. But that remains to be seen because there is a lot of fear out there among workers. And as we've seen, the administration has had a tendency of changing policies very quickly with little notice. And so it generates a lot of uncertainty in the market. That was WSJ reporter Ariane Campoflores.

Thank you, Ariane. Sure thing. My pleasure. And that's what's news for this Monday afternoon. Today's show was produced by Anthony Bansi. Our supervising producer was Pierre Bienamé. I'm Alex Osola for The Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning.

Thanks for listening.