Steve Witkoff

Force in Play

Leading U.S. peace mediation efforts

Ukraine's drone campaign has hit 24 of Russia's 33 major refineries and expanded to Black Sea export infrastructure, pushing Russian crude processing to a 16-year low. Moscow banned gasoline exports through July 31 and is now weighing bans on diesel and jet fuel after Rosstat confirmed refining fell 9.2% in a single month.

Updated 1 hour ago

Rule Changes

Leading American negotiating team in Iran talks

Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Washington this week with a single message: any deal with Iran must go beyond uranium. After three hours in the Oval Office on February 11, President Trump emerged saying 'nothing definitive' was reached—but negotiations would continue.

Updated 2 days ago

Rule Changes

Actively brokering peace talks between Russia and Ukraine

The United States and Russia agreed on February 5, 2026, to reestablish high-level military communication that had been suspended since fall 2021. The channel gives General Alexus Grynkewich (commander of U.S. European Command) a direct line to General Valery Gerasimov (chief of Russia's General Staff). It restores a mechanism designed to prevent miscalculation between two nuclear-armed militaries operating in proximity across Europe, the Arctic, and the Black Sea.

Updated 2 days ago

Force in Play

Leading Phase 2 implementation of Gaza peace plan

Ran Gvili's remains were recovered January 26, 2026, ending the hostage crisis. Phase Two of Trump's peace plan collapsed by April: Hamas formally rejected the Board of Peace's disarmament proposal, and the NCAG—the Palestinian technocratic committee—has no presence in Gaza.

Updated 2 days ago

Force in Play

Met Qatari PM with Rubio in Miami on May 9; publicly contradicted by Trump on Iran concessions May 12

The ceasefire reached on April 8 is fraying under live fire. On May 26, CENTCOM struck IRGC mine-laying boats and a missile site near Bandar Abbas; Iran branded it a 'gross violation' and the IRGC claimed it shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone — a claim US officials have not confirmed.

Updated 3 days ago

Force in Play

Reported by Axios as lead US negotiator in May 2026 direct talks with Iran, co-negotiating 14-point MOU alongside Jared Kushner

US and Iranian negotiators agreed to 'broad principles' of a deal on May 25, with Iran accepting in principle to dispose of its highly enriched uranium and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Foreign Ministry said a signed agreement was 'not imminent' and accused Washington of shifting positions — a day after a senior US official described the framework as '95% there.'

Updated 4 days ago

Rule Changes

Leading diplomatic outreach for Board of Peace membership

The United Nations has been the primary venue for international conflict resolution since 1945. On January 22, 2026, President Trump launched an alternative: the Board of Peace, a body he chairs for life where permanent membership costs $1 billion and he holds sole veto power.

Updated 7 days ago

Rule Changes

Announced Phase Two launch

Hamas governed Gaza since June 2007, but on January 15, 2026, a 15-member committee of Palestinian technocrats met in Cairo—none affiliated with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. The next day, Trump announced the Board of Peace's leadership: himself as chair, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former UK PM Tony Blair, Jared Kushner (his son-in-law), special envoy Steve Witkoff, and others. By January 17, Netanyahu's office had declared the arrangement to be 'not coordinated with Israel and contrary to its policy.'

Updated May 21

Force in Play

Leading phase two ceasefire negotiations

A severe winter storm struck Gaza on January 13, 2026, collapsing war-damaged walls and killing at least 8 Palestinians, including a 7-day-old infant, a 1-year-old boy, and a 4-year-old girl who died of hypothermia. Cold-weather deaths have reached at least 23 since winter began; over 1.1 million people need shelter and 81% of Gaza's structures are destroyed or damaged.

Updated May 20

Force in Play

In active communication with Iranian Foreign Minister

Iran's nationwide uprising, triggered by December 28, 2025 bazaar marches in Tehran, was crushed in what may be the deadliest massacre in the Islamic Republic's history. An internet blackout that began January 8 was partially restored around January 17-18, though connectivity remains severely restricted. Early reports confirmed 572 deaths; after internet restoration in late January, the Human Rights Activists News Agency documented at least 6,126 deaths, with estimates ranging from 12,000 to over 36,500.

Updated May 20

Force in Play

Leading U.S. peace negotiation efforts

Russia continues massive winter strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilians amid advancing trilateral peace talks. A week after the February 4-5 Abu Dhabi round yielded a 314-POW exchange and US-Russia military dialogue, Russia launched major attacks including 408 drones/39 missiles on February 6-7 targeting energy substations and the February 13 assault with 219 drones/24 missiles killing one in Odesa. Zelenskyy accused Russia of bad faith while confirming a third round of talks for next week.

Updated May 19

Force in Play

Leading peace talks with Russia on behalf of Trump administration

On December 28, President Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced 90% agreement on a revised 20-point peace framework at Mar-a-Lago. The next day Russia claimed Ukraine attacked Putin's residence with drones—a charge Kyiv denies, calling it fabricated to sabotage talks. The alleged attack exposes how fragile negotiations are: while diplomats inch toward compromise, the shadow war continues and Moscow weaponizes accusations to 'toughen' its bargaining position. The real question after nearly four years of invasion is whether either side will stop fighting long enough to sign a deal.

Updated May 16

Rule Changes

Leading negotiations with Ukraine and Russia on the U.S. proposal

Zelensky just did something he once treated as untouchable: he offered to drop Ukraine's NATO bid. Not as surrender, but as a trade—Kyiv gives up the alliance path, and the West gives Ukraine legally binding protection strong enough to scare Moscow off for good.

Updated May 15

Built World

Traveling to Berlin to align a U.S.-backed proposal with Kyiv and Europe

Ukrainian officials say more than 450 drones and about 30 missiles hit energy and port infrastructure overnight. Odesa and surrounding areas went dark.

Updated May 15

Force in Play

Co‑author and shuttle diplomat for the U.S. peace framework

In early 2025, Trump launched an aggressive push to "end the war" in Ukraine. He tied resumed military aid and intelligence sharing to Kyiv's acceptance of a U.S.-drafted peace framework that includes territorial concessions to Russia and long-term limits on Ukraine's sovereignty.

Updated May 10

Force in Play

Lead U.S. negotiator coordinating parallel tracks with Russia and Ukraine; reporting progress to Trump

By late December 2025, the controversial 28-point plan was replaced by a revised 20-point framework. Zelenskyy said it was '90 percent agreed' with Washington, with '100 percent' consensus on U.S.–Ukraine security guarantees.

Updated May 10

Force in Play

Trump’s principal negotiator with the Kremlin on the peace framework

In late 2025, U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine was "really, really close." Two disputes remain: the fate of Donbas, especially Ukrainian-held areas in Donetsk, and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant (Russia-occupied and the largest in Europe).

Updated May 10

Force in Play

Trump's point person for implementing the Gaza ceasefire and political plan; announced phase two launch

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel triggered a war that lasted more than two years. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect October 10, 2025. At least 460 Palestinians have been killed and over 1,200 injured since the truce began.

Updated May 10

Rule Changes

Participated in Islamabad talks April 11–12 alongside VP Vance and Kushner; criticized by current and former diplomats as lacking technical depth for nuclear negotiations; maintains direct message contact with Araghchi

Diplomatic efforts to constrain Iran's nuclear program collapsed into open war on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran—codenamed Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion—targeting military infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and senior leadership. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes; his son Mojtaba Khamenei was elected by the Assembly of Experts as the new Supreme Leader on March 8, but has not appeared publicly since, reportedly recovering from injuries sustained in the same strike that killed his father. Iran retaliated across the region and closed the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of world oil trade flows. A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan took effect on April 8, under which Iran agreed to reopen the Strait—though Iran re-closed it on April 18 after the United States refused to lift a naval blockade imposed following failed peace talks.

Updated Apr 20

Force in Play

Concluded failed negotiations before strikes began

For four decades, the United States and Iran avoided direct, large-scale war. That changed on February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and leadership compounds, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The assault followed collapsed indirect nuclear talks mediated by Oman. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US bases in the Gulf, oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Embassy in Riyadh.

Updated Mar 4