Vienna, April 24, 2026. The U.S. government is relying on unconventional diplomacy in the simmering conflict with Iran. President Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have traveled to Islamabad to hold talks with Iran under Pakistani mediation. It is a remarkable step in a conflict that has kept Europe on edge for months and could reshuffle the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
The choice of envoys is typical of the Trump administration. Steve Witkoff, a New York real estate developer and long-time friend of the president, has no formal diplomatic training. Jared Kushner, for his part, was already responsible for the Abraham Accords during Trump's first term and is considered the architect of Israeli-Arab rapprochement. Both men rely on deals rather than protocols.<\/p>\n
It is no coincidence that Pakistan is acting as a mediator. The country has traditionally maintained good relations with both the U.S. and Iran. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has repeatedly offered to act as a bridge-builder in recent months. Islamabad hopes to enhance its international role and to receive American concessions in the form of economic aid.<\/p>\n
According to reports, the talks revolve around several key points: Iran's nuclear program, Tehran's regional policy, and the sanctions that are economically strangling the country. Trump had once again terminated the nuclear deal, which his predecessor Biden had revived, and pursued a policy of maximum pressure. Tensions have escalated dangerously in recent months.<\/p>\n
This development is of enormous significance for Europe. A military conflict in the Persian Gulf would cause energy prices to skyrocket and place an additional strain on the already fragile European economy. Austria, which has traditionally maintained good trade relations with Iran, has a vital interest in a diplomatic solution. Vienna was once the venue for the nuclear negotiations, a role that Pakistan now appears to be taking over.<\/p>\n
Remarkable is what is missing from the talks: Europe. The European Union, once an important partner in the Iran negotiations, was not involved by Washington. Brussels learned of the developments from the media. It is another sign of how marginal European foreign policy has become in the Trump era.<\/p>\n
Austrian diplomats are watching these developments with mixed feelings. On the one hand, any de-escalation is welcome. On the other hand, it shows once again that key decisions regarding war and peace are being made without European involvement. The Foreign Ministry in Vienna is refraining from making public comments, but frustration is reportedly running high internally.<\/p>\n
Witkoff and Kushner\u2019s mission reveals the essence of Trump\u2019s diplomacy: personal relationships rather than institutional processes, moments of surprise rather than long-term strategies. It remains to be seen whether this approach will lead to lasting peace or merely a short-term deal. For Europe, the uncomfortable reality remains that its security is being negotiated in Islamabad\u2014without a seat at the table. YANUS will continue to follow this story.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two real estate moguls are set to resolve the Middle East conflict. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are traveling to Islamabad, and Pakistan is emerging as a surprising mediator between Washington and Tehran.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\nMehr lesen: {url}\n\n{tags}\n#YANUS","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[48,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oesterreich","category-politik"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/witkoff-und-kushner-in-pakistan-trumps-geheimmiss.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1220"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3195,"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1220\/revisions\/3195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yanus.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1220"}],"curies":[{"name":"WP","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}