"Three wars, two men — one pattern."

Editor's note: When the following republished material is read keep in mind that many of the structures being bombed in both Israel and in Iran are structures that are old and have been slated for demolition (real estate development) so they can be replaced including older airports and runways. Three conflicts, two unconventional negotiators, and a process unfolding largely outside traditional diplomatic channels, recent developments suggest a shift in how high-level negotiations are being conducted. Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer turned envoy, and Jared Kushner, operating without a formal government title, have reportedly taken central roles in discussions spanning Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran. Both men, closely tied to Donald Trump, have described a flexible, fast-moving approach to negotiations, merging proposals, working multiple regions simultaneously, and leveraging personal relationships rather than institutional frameworks. Critics such as Alastair Crooke argue this model reflects not a conventional peace process, but a system where financial and strategic interests shape outcomes first, with political arrangements following behind—raising deeper questions about transparency, accountability, and whose interests are ultimately being served.
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Kushner and Witkoff

By ESC | March 30, 2026

Three wars, two men — one pattern.

In December 2025, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin for approximately five hours, presenting documents outlining a phased settlement plan for Ukraine [1]. Later that month, Witkoff convened representatives from the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey in Miami to advance Phase 2 of the Gaza ceasefire [2].

 

On March 23, 2026, Trump claimed Kushner and Witkoff had conducted talks with senior Iranian officials regarding the terms under which Iran's energy infrastructure might be spared3. Tehran denies the meeting took place, with Ghalibaf himself calling it ‘fake news’ designed to manipulate oil and financial markets 4.

By March 25, the White House was working to arrange a meeting in Islamabad, with Pakistan having transmitted a 15-point US ceasefire proposal to Tehran and the IAEA chief confirming he expected talks that weekend 5.

Three wars. Two men operating outside normal diplomatic channels, at compressed timescales, producing phased conditions rather than political agreements. Neither man is a career diplomat.

Witkoff holds the title of Special Envoy [6], sworn in by Secretary Rubio, but his background is New York real estate development [7] — his friendship with Donald Trump dates to 1986, when he bought the future president a sandwich at a deli [8].

Kushner holds no formal title at all. He is the president's son-in-law, a real estate investor whose family company purchased 666 Fifth Avenue for $1.8 billion and spent the better part of a decade trying to refinance it [9].

Between them, they are negotiating the reconstruction of Ukraine, the governance of Gaza, and the terms under which Iran re-enters the international system.

But the question is not actually whether they are qualified. The question is what function they perform — and for whom.

In an October 2025 interview with CBS's 60 Minutes [10], Kushner and Witkoff described the function themselves — though not in those terms. They confirmed working Iran, Ukraine, and an Algeria-Morocco deal simultaneously.

Witkoff called peace 'infectious' and said leaders were calling the White House asking how to move deals forward. Kushner explained that Trump had delegated broad authority to negotiate — the mandate, in Kushner’s words, was simply 'don't make a bad deal' — and that the two of them had been 'freewheeling it', merging separate ceasefire and end-of-war proposals into a single document on their own initiative, then presenting it to the president for his approval.

When asked about doing billions of dollars of business with the same Gulf governments whose representatives were involved in the peace talks, Kushner replied: 'What people call conflicts of interest, Steve and I call experience and trusted relationships'. Witkoff agreed on camera: 'We really do'.

Alastair Crooke, a former British diplomat and founder of the Conflicts Forum, described the mechanism in February 2026 [11]. The failure to resolve the Ukraine conflict, he argued, is a feature — one that opens a path for business to be done, for stakeholder deals to be cut, and for billions to be shared out.

Trump, Witkoff and Kushner are said to be confident that they can construct a financial reward system for western debt-holders, investors and politicians that succeeds in retaining the financial rewards of war — without the ancillary ingredient of bloodshed.

The territorial issues, security guarantees, EU membership status, and the position of NATO are, in Crooke's framing, 'downstream details once the larger payment system is organised'.

That sentence deserves to be read twice. The politics is downstream of the payment system, the governance is downstream of the financial architecture, and the settlement conditions are downstream of the clearing house. What Crooke is describing is not a peace process — it is the installation of a new financial system, with conflict resolution as its onboarding mechanism.

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