US Special Envoy
Appears in 21 stories
Reported by Axios as lead US negotiator in May 2026 direct talks with Iran, co-negotiating 14-point MOU alongside Jared Kushner
Iran listed six conditions for reopening Hormuz on August 8: end the US blockade, lift sanctions, and pay reparations. Trump countered two days later, demanding Iran pay for the USS Cole bombing and decades of protester deaths.
Updated 2 hours ago
Met Qatar PM in Doha July 1 alongside Kushner; indirect talks concluded July 2 with goods-purchase mechanism and violation channel agreed; next round after Khamenei funeral
Direct US-Iran talks remain stuck. Trump said negotiations would resume August 3; Iran denied any meeting was scheduled and said it was only talking to Oman about the Strait of Hormuz.
Updated 3 days ago
Directed to continue Iran negotiations alongside JD Vance and Jared Kushner; participated in Switzerland talks June 21; active in Oman talks July 10–11
Trump cancelled a planned massive air campaign against Iran on August 1. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Iran all asked him to hold off, he said, because 'the perimeters of a deal' had been agreed. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump hours earlier, urging him to prioritize diplomacy and avoid a wider war.
Updated Aug 3
Leading U.S. peace mediation efforts
On June 29, Putin publicly acknowledged that Ukrainian drone strikes are causing fuel shortages across Russia—the first time the Kremlin has detailed the campaign's domestic toll. Russia responded two days later with a barrage of 74 missiles and 496 drones that killed at least 21 people in Kyiv, Moscow citing the oil infrastructure attacks as justification.
Updated Jul 2
Leading Phase 2 implementation of Gaza peace plan
Ran Gvili's remains were recovered on January 26, 2026, ending the hostage crisis. Phase Two of Trump's peace plan fell apart by April: Hamas rejected the Board of Peace's disarmament proposal, and the Palestinian technocratic committee (NCAG) has no presence in Gaza. The Board of Peace has pledged $17 billion for reconstruction but has not disbursed a single dollar from its World Bank account.
Updated May 31
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 May 30
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
On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion—coordinated airstrikes targeting Iranian military infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and senior leadership. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes; his son Mojtaba was elected as the new Supreme Leader on March 8 but hasn't appeared publicly, reportedly recovering from injuries sustained in the same strike. Iran retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for 20 percent of world oil trade. Pakistan brokered a ceasefire on April 8, but Iran re-closed the Strait on April 18 after the United States refused to lift its naval blockade imposed following failed peace talks.
Updated May 29
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 May 27
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.
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 May 22
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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).
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.
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