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Steve Witkoff

US President Donald Trump, right, listens during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the State Dining Room of the White House, September 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Jacob Magid
Book review
Jacob Magid
‘You want to call Trump, Bibi?’: How incoming US president’s wrath was leveraged to close hostage deal
Top Biden aide's new book reveals dramatic 11th-hour talks before January 2025 agreement as well as outgoing president's desire to give final speech rebuking his party's anti-Israel direction
US President Donald Trump winks as the members of the media depart the Oval Office of the White House as Essar Capital Director Prashant Ruia, from left, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, John Jovanovic, chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa., and Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, look on, September 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
September 29, 2026, 2:13 am
Trump denies willingness to give Iran sanctions relief in exchange for nuke concessions
US and Iranian officials speak separately with Qatari mediators on amended Iranian proposal that includes end to hostilities in Israeli-occupied south Lebanon, after Trump nixed earlier version
By Agencies, ToI Staff and Jacob Magid
Pedestrian walk past a billboard depicting a Persian legendary hero and flying figure hitting US aircraft carriers at Islamic Revolution square in downtown Tehran, Iran, September 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
September 28, 2026, 4:42 pm
US, Iran expected to hold separate talks with mediators as pressure ramps on Tehran
Washington reportedly seeking to extract nuclear concessions from Islamic Republic after rejecting its bid to reopen Strait of Hormuz
By Agencies and ToI Staff
(L-R) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Special Envoy Jared Kushner attend a bilateral meeting between the Ukraine and US in conjunction with the the United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters on September 22, 2026 in New York City. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP)
September 23, 2026, 4:07 am
US and Iranian negotiators hold talks at UN that Trump says ‘went very well’
Witkoff clarifies that mediators ‘shuttled’ between the sides; Trump gripes that members of Iran’s delegation were ‘not the highest level’; Rubio says US president open to meeting his Iranian counterpart while he’s in NYC for General Assembly
By Jacob Magid
US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on Air Force One from Shannon, Ireland, to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, September 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
September 14, 2026, 10:25 am
Trump praises Witkoff, Kushner; says Gaza fighting scant and Hamas willing to disarm
US president hails envoys’ work amid reports CIA chief to take over effort to end Russia-Ukraine war; downplays report China gave Iran intel before deadly strike on US base in Jordan
By Jacob Magid and AFP
A woman walks along a road as smoke rises from a destroyed warehouse after a Russian drone attack on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, August 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
September 5, 2026, 7:57 pm
Putin orders 72-hour pause in Kyiv strikes as Ukraine agrees to halt attacks on Moscow
Zelensky says reciprocal restraint will last through Monday, as Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin before first visit to Kyiv; Russian strikes in Ukraine kill 5
By AP and ToI Staff
White House envoys Jared Kushner, left, and Steve Witkoff, listen as US Vice President JD Vance (not in picture) speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 12, 2026. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
September 5, 2026, 9:54 am
Trump sends Kushner, Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv with new plan to ‘end war’
Report says pair to meet Putin before traveling to Ukrainian capital; Zelensky suggests ceasefire for duration of trip, despite unprecedented strike on Ukraine’s SBU security service
By AFP
US Vice President JD Vance (L) waits, alongside US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff (C) and Jared Kushner, to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (not seen), at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard / POOL / AFP)
June 30, 2026, 5:15 pm
US envoys in Qatar to meet mediators, but no direct talks with Iran set for coming days
Contradicting Trump, Doha says Witkoff and Kushner to discuss negotiations with Iran and other issues, but without meeting Iranian officials; separate technical talks on MOU go on
By Agencies, ToI Staff and Jacob Magid
Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo)
June 20, 2026, 5:37 pm
Iran claims Hormuz closed again as IDF attacks Hezbollah; Vance says Switzerland talks may start Sunday
US denies strait shuttered, says traffic flowing; US, Iran negotiators gathering in Swiss resort, with US VP saying he’ll head there shortly, expects truce to hold; US and Qatar said planning to funnel an initial $6B to Tehran
By Agencies and ToI Staff
A man waves an Iranian flag as people beat their chests during a religious mourning ceremony in Tehran, Iran, on June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
June 19, 2026, 9:47 am
Opening round of US-Iran talks canceled as Tehran said to demand halt to Lebanon fighting
Announcement comes after White House said Vance wouldn’t go to Burgenstock overnight; diplomat to CNN: Iran seeks ‘guarantee’ of Israel-Hezbollah truce, mediators working on issue
By Jacob Magid and Agencies
US President Donald Trump (right) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a joint press conference at the Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, December 29, 2025. (Jim WATSON / AFP)
June 6, 2026, 1:21 pm
Pentagon raises threat assessment of Israeli spying on US to ‘critical’ level — report
Trump envoy Witkoff among key officials being spied on, NYT says; original NBC report vehemently denied by White House, Israeli embassy says story ‘completely false’
By ToI Staff
A woman holds up an Iranian flag in front of a banner showing a portrait of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a street festival celebrating the Muslim Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir, in Tehran, Iran, June 4, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi)
June 6, 2026, 12:29 pm
US, Iran trade fire in Gulf as Trump team consults experts for nuclear talks
US hits Iranian radar sites after drone attacks, Iran fires missiles at Bahrain, Kuwait; Trump says deal is stuck because Iran has to make tough decisions, says Tehran retains about 22% of missile arsenal
By Agencies and ToI Staff
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach Fla., Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
April 25, 2026, 9:29 pm
Trump cancels Witkoff and Kushner’s trip to Islamabad for ‘time-wasting’ Iran talks
US president claims Iran submitted a better but not good enough proposal minutes after he canceled his negotiators’ trip; Iran’s FM departs Pakistan after meeting local leaders
By Agencies, ToI Staff and Jacob Magid
US Vice President JD Vance, right, speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran as Jared Kushner, left, and Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for Peace Missions listen, on April 12, 2026, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
April 12, 2026, 9:29 am
US-Iran talks in Pakistan end after 21 hours with no deal; US negotiators head home
Vance says Iranians refused to disavow nuclear program that would let them build bomb; he makes no mention of Strait of Hormuz, cited in Iran as other key point of disagreement; Iran’s Ghalibaf: US side failed to gain our trust
By Agencies and ToI Staff
US Vice President JD Vance speaks to the press before boarding Air Force Two, Friday, April 10, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., for expected departure to Pakistan, for talks on Iran. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, pool)
April 10, 2026, 4:41 pm
Vance warns Iran not to ‘play’ the US as he departs for peace talks in Pakistan
Iranian delegations said to have arrived in Islamabad, city under lockdown ahead of high-stakes negotiations aimed at ending conflict; Israel not represented
By Michelle L. Price and AAMER MADHANI
US Vice President JD Vance speaks to the media before boarding Air Force Two to return to Washington DC, after the White House announced he would be leading the US delegation in upcoming peace talks with Iran, at the Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, April 8, 2026. (JONATHAN ERNST / POOL / AFP)
April 9, 2026, 2:31 am
Vance to lead US negotiators at first round of Islamabad talks with Iran on Saturday
VP: Tehran thought Lebanon was part of truce due to ‘legitimate misunderstanding,’ Israel agreed to ‘check itself a little bit’ against Hezbollah; Iran’s Ghalibaf claims US violated understandings, questions if negotiations worthwhile
By Jacob Magid and Nava Freiberg
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