SATISH SHARMA - not just Rotigraphy.: Was Witkoff a traitor to his boss, to peace, or to both?

Was Witkoff a traitor to his boss, to peace, or to both?

Reza Nasri

Steve Witkoff is on a media tour to explain away his failures at the negotiating table with Iran. He now smears FM Araghchi — who, unlike him, is a seasoned and notoriously serious diplomat — claiming the Iranian foreign minister lacked willingness to reach a deal, lacked authority, was threatening, shouting, and all sorts of other nonsense. The truth is very different. In one of the three rounds of negotiations, Witkoff showed up late to the meeting and then went off to have breakfast. He had no knowledge whatsoever of the technical nuclear issues under discussion. He could not even use the correct terminology when referring to basic technical matters. He was clueless about past agreements, did not bother to take notes, and could not even grasp Iran’s proposals. He had not even bothered to bring along a State Department diplomat or a technical expert who could explain to him what the Iranian negotiators were actually talking about. At the first meeting in Geneva, he cut the discussion short to attend talks on Ukraine, which he had conveniently scheduled on the same day to avoid having to travel twice. In another meeting, he reportedly stepped off his private plane half sober and pretended to agree with everything Iran proposed, only to later reverse himself and tell a completely different story to U.S. media. FM Araghchi could dismantle every one of Witkoff’s claims simply by releasing, fully or even partially, Iran’s proposals. That alone would show that Witkoff is either clueless, lying, or — more likely — acting on behalf of Netanyahu rather than the U.S. administration. The U.S. Congress — and the intelligence community — would do well to investigate whether he was actually pursuing American interests, or effectively taking his cues from a foreign government, namely Israel. The American people deserve to know. Ask why he pretended talks were progressing to the Iranian counterpart and the Omani mediator, and reported the opposite to his boss? In fact, if what he reported to Trump is the same fiction he is now feeding to U.S. media, then he bears direct responsibility for helping ignite a regional war. Was Witkoff a traitor to his boss, to peace, or to both?

4:13 AM · Mar 12, 2026