President Donald Trump likes to keep his most important assignments close to home. It’s no surprise, then, that he assigned negotiating a potential peace agreement with Iran to his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his frequent golfing companion, Steve Witkoff — both Manhattan real estate developers.
But CNN reported that Tehran has indicated it no longer wants to speak with either of Trump’s emissaries, and would prefer Vice President JD Vance — whose support for the war has been muted after decrying foreign interventions for most of his political career. The supposed refusal to talk to Witkoff and Kushner isn’t bizarre. Both are strong supporters and fundraisers for Israel, and Kushner’s 2020 “peace plan” proposal — swiftly rejected by the Palestinians, who were not consulted beforehand — endorsed Israel’s aggressive expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Tehran sees in Kushner and Witkoff not good-faith negotiators, but representing forces in American politics most committed to their downfall.
Kushner, in particular, has specialized in blending his personal, and especially financial, interests — and his deeply pro-Israel and pro-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ideological commitments — with the assignments given to him by his powerful father-in-law. During the first Trump administration, Kushner developed a strong personal bond with the Saudi prime minister and crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, which both men touted as vital assets in a crucial relationship for both countries.
For “MBS,” his relationship with Kushner appeared crucial in securing support from Trump following the atrocious murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi (Full disclosure: He was a friend of mine for about 15 years before his heinous assassination). Trump has reportedly said of this support, at a make-or-break time for the crown prince’s political future, “I saved his ass.” For once, Trump was engaging in neither falsehood nor hyperbole. Without the White House batting aside Prince Mohammed’s responsibility — which the Saudi leader later accepted while denying ordering the hit — his father, the king, and the rest of the Saudi elite might have been forced to look for a different successor. The crown prince clearly believed that his close ties to Trump, especially through Kushner, were invaluable.
After Trump lost to Biden in 2020, Kushner set up a private equity investment fund, Affinity Partners. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, was the first and largest investor in this venture, kicking in $2 billion.
Kushner returned to the White House in the second administration to help spearhead the “Board of Peace.” It was set up initially to oversee the (thus far) entirely aspirational reconstruction of Gaza, although its remit has been expanded to global peace efforts, none of which have resulted in any initiatives.
When Kushner said there was “no plan B” for Gaza, it became clear that he had no intention of heading up any actual reconstruction but instead presiding over a cruel hoax.
The president’s son-in-law did produce a blueprint for Gaza reconstruction that was wholly divorced from realities on the ground and the needs of the 2.2 million Palestinians living there, instead imagining beachfront resorts, data centers, industrial parks, an airport, train system and other wild hallucinations. When Kushner said there was “no plan B” for Gaza, it became clear that he had no intention of heading up any actual reconstruction but instead presiding over a cruel hoax.
However, he did begin scouring the Middle East for another $5 billion for Affinity Partners, work he has continued as he was brought into the Iran talks. Like the question of nepotism, conflicts of interest do not arise when it comes to Trump’s family, including Kushner. Kushner had told journalists that Affinity Partners “didn’t have to raise money for the next four years,” so he wouldn’t be once again mixing diplomacy and personal fundraising. That commitment was immediately abandoned.
Kushner also developed strong ties to Qatar, especially during the boycott of that country by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. That self-described “Anti-Terrorism Coalition” objected to Qatar’s bankrolling and media support for Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated parties across the Arab world. But as a result, Doha needed help in Washington, and Kushner obliged, helping steer Trump away from his initial impulse to back the quartet and instead side with the Pentagon in calling for an end to the boycott without major concessions from Qatar.
Kushner’s ties to Qatar date back even further, from his catastrophic miscalculation of purchasing 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for an astonishing $1.8 billion. The extraordinary mistake — one of his first major forays into business — threatened to destroy the real estate empire Kushner’s father had built. Eventually, a Canadian company that is partly owned by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund agreed to effectively bail the Kushners out of Jared’s record-breaking blunder by renting the building on disadvantageous terms for almost 100 years. Problem solved. But Kushner’s strongest Middle East ties are to Netanyahu, a close family friend. When the Israeli prime minister was a mid-level diplomat in New York, he reportedly used to frequently stay overnight at the Kushner home, even bedding down in Jared’s own room, with the young real estate scion dispatched to another quarter. Kushner’s ties to the Israeli far right are, therefore, not merely ideological and deeply religious — they are profoundly personal. It seems impossible to suggest that all of this could simply be put aside, making room for impartiality and sound judgment. Iran’s institutionalized leadership is about as untrustworthy a group as can be identified on the global stage. But, when it comes to Kushner — and Witkoff, for that matter — for once they may have a point. Asking Tehran to negotiate with Steve and Jared, while the latter is fronting for his old family friend, Netanyahu, and roaming the Middle East looking for billions in foreign investments for his fund, may be a very Trumpy demand. But while Vance may not be the ideal substitute, the current negotiating team is about as inappropriate a pair for this task that could be identified among the approximately 240 million adult U.S. citizens. Even the Trump administration can do better.
Hussein Ibish
Hussein Ibish is a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. 
