Another broken promise on the way?
President Donald Trump has instructed Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Their mission: form a special team to try to negotiate with Iran. The information, which comes through the Axios portal, sounds like a bold move. But I, who have seen this before, wonder: is it strategy or theater?
There have been no recent direct contacts between Washington and Tehran. Instead, several countries have been acting as messengers. Egypt, Qatar and the United Kingdom passing notes back and forth like children in school.
The conditions: an abyss to cross
Iran says it is interested in dialogue. Sure, but under their strict conditions. The United States, for its part, has put six key demands on the table that sound more like unconditional surrender than grounds for conversation.
The list is long and complicated:
- Suspend the missile program for five years
- Totally stop uranium enrichment
- Decommission key nuclear facilities such as Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow
- Allow permanent external supervision over all nuclear equipment
- Limit arms control treaties with neighboring countries
- Maximum limit of 1,000 missiles in its arsenal
But there is more. The part that really hurts for Tehran:
The ban on financing affiliated groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen or Hamas in Gaza.
This is not just about nuclear weapons. It is a direct attempt to clip the wings of Iranian influence throughout the region. Analysts see it clearly: Trump wants to strengthen security in the Middle East before any real rapprochement.
Meanwhile, my teenage son asks me at dinner, “And does this affect gas prices?” I explain the historical patterns, how these tensions always end up hitting common pockets before presidential palaces.
Team formation is only a first technical step. The real challenge is what comes next: Will Iran be willing to compromise on what it sees as vital strategic issues? Will intermediaries manage to establish trustworthy channels when distrust runs so deep?
The context doesn’t help. Weeks of confrontations and mutual threats have left the atmosphere strained. As a journalist who lived in Madrid and saw how Europe looks at Latin America with a certain distance, I understand that these negotiations look very different from within each capital.
My informed skepticism tells me that this smacks more of a pre-election political movement than a genuine diplomatic breakthrough. But the side of me that still believes in solutions hopes I’m wrong.
For now, we observe. And we take note of every word, every gesture, every intermediary that runs between two giants who don’t know how to look each other in the eyes.
