‘How could he say that?’ Veteran diplomats give Jared Kushner an 'F in diplomacy'

As the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran nears an end and the Trump Administration considers a second round of negotiations after the first attempt failed, experienced diplomats have told Time Magazine that they question whether American envoys “understand” the situation well enough to strike a deal. In fact, some suggest that lead negotiator Jared Kushner — who is also the son-in-law of President Donald Trump — may be making matters worse.

Aaron David Miller, a former US State Department Middle East negotiator who served six Secretaries of State, had a blunt assessment of Kushner and co-lead Steve Witkoff’s performance, saying, “Iran and the U.S. under Kushner and Witkoff? Failure. They get an F in diplomacy.”

In addition to the failed first round of talks, Miller points to other diplomatic disappointments delivered by the duo over the course of the past year, such as Russia v. Ukraine or the fight between Israel and Hamas.

Before entering government, Kusher and Witkoff worked in real estate, and the former has frequently expressed that he brings this mindset to diplomacy, recently declaring that “peace is not that different from business.”

“How could he say that?” Miller wondered. “He's comparing leasing an apartment building on Fifth Avenue to negotiating a historic conflict driven by security, pain, and trauma.”

A key concern is that Kushner has openly expressed his disdain for understanding the complex history and values underpinning the conflicts he is tasked with resolving. For example, in 2023 while attempting to end hostilities between Israel and Hamas, he told his envoys, “I don't need a headache, and I don't need a history lesson… I want a very simple thing…what's the outcome that you would accept?” He has also asserted that negotiations should “focus on interests over values.”

The problem, says seasoned diplomats, is that the history and values Kushner dismisses are integral to understanding the situation and successfully navigating negotiations.

“You need to have some sense of history,” explained Miller, “and you need to know geography.”

Former senior State Department official Robert Einhorn, who worked on the Iran nuclear negotiations under Obama, pointed out two flaws in Kushner’s approach. First, unlike with business deals, negotiators are unable to strike agreements on the spot because they are typically constrained by policy and public opinion. Second, the current Trump delegation doesn’t appear to have the expertise needed to discuss complex matters such as nuclear technology.

“What does it mean, zero enrichment?” Einhorn asked, citing Trump’s demand that Iran achieve “no” enrichment of uranium. “Does it mean no infrastructure supporting enrichment? Does it mean that already existing enriched uranium, including the 440 kilos of highly enriched uranium, would have to be exported or diluted? You have to have experts that understand the various dimensions of the problem.”

In the end, while there may be other issues with the negotiations, much of the failure of the first round came down to a simple problem: Kushner and Witkoff, say experts, haven’t been “doing their homework.”

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