Murphy: Negotiating with Iran is Beyond the Capabilities of Witkoff and Kushner

Tehran - BORNA - Senior Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, noting that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff lack the diplomatic skills and experience necessary to reach an agreement with Iran on issues that are complex and time-consuming to resolve, wrote: "Our two lead negotiators on Iran affairs have no diplomatic experience. It is completely beyond their capabilities."

Murphy also stated regarding Kushner and Witkoff: "Both have massive conflicts of interest in their finances, and their wealth is tied to Middle Eastern dictators who have made them rich; this is a major disaster."

Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in a war that began with illegal U.S. and Zionist regime attacks against Iran's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Iran and the U.S. entered negotiations on April 12 (23 Farvardin) with Pakistani mediation. The U.S. negotiating team was headed by JD Vance, Trump's Vice President, accompanied by Witkoff and Kushner. Despite some understandings, these negotiations remained fruitless due to the wide gap between the two sides' views on several important issues.

During the ceasefire, Iran had agreed to the conditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which had been closed to enemy ships and their allies during the war and made conditional upon full coordination with Iran for the passage of commercial ships and tankers from other countries. However, following the illegal blockade of Iranian ports by the U.S. after the failure of the Islamabad negotiations, Iranian officials announced that the status of the Strait would return to its previous state.

After unilaterally announcing the extension of the ceasefire at the request of the Pakistani government, the U.S. President declared that the naval blockade would continue. Iranian officials have stated they are unwilling to negotiate in an atmosphere of threat, but as soon as the U.S. adheres to the ceasefire terms and lifts the naval blockade, they will be ready to consider the possibility of re-participating in negotiations with Washington.

Currently, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi is in Islamabad for bilateral consultations with Pakistani officials regarding the ceasefire status, regional issues, and mutual relations. The White House had announced it would send Kushner and Witkoff to Pakistan to negotiate with the Iranian delegation, but Iran has emphasized that for now, and until the U.S. adheres to the ceasefire, it has no plans to participate in negotiations.

Previously, during the Geneva negotiations—where Kushner and Witkoff were simultaneously advancing Ukraine peace talks and negotiations with the Iranian delegation at short intervals—the U.S.'s serious resolve to reach an agreement had become controversial due to the American representatives' lack of diplomatic experience when facing expert Iranian and Russian diplomats, as well as the intensive scheduling of these complex negotiations.

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