Witkoff Says U.S. Favors Diplomacy Over Military Action in Iran, Sees Economic Strain as Leverage -
The U.S. prefers diplomacy over military action in handling the ongoing protests with Iran, according to President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Speaking at the Israeli-American Council conference in Florida overnight into Friday, Witkoff said, "I hope there's a diplomatic resolution. I really do," and outlined four key issues Washington wants Tehran to address: "Nuclear, enrichment, missiles… and the proxies" across the Middle East.
Witkoff also noted that the U.S. has maintained contact with exiled Iranian opposition figures, including Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Shah of Iran, as part of a broader effort to engage both Tehran and opposition networks.
Witkoff suggested Iran's internal crises – including severe shortages of water and electricity and inflation above 50 percent – could push the regime toward compromise. "If they want to come back to the League of Nations, we can solve those four problems diplomatically, then that would be a great resolution. The alternative is a bad one."
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He said that Trump had issued warnings to Tehran and ordered direct communication with Iranian officials amid rumors of mass executions. "At his direction, we communicated with the Iranians yesterday," he said.
"One of the things we were concerned about were the killings that were rumored to be on the way – hangings, mass hangings – and that's been shut down," he continued.
He praised Iranian demonstrators, saying, "They're incredibly courageous people, and we stand with you."
On Gaza, Witkoff highlighted Trump's initiatives, including the new Board of Peace and U.S. progress in replacing Hamas rule: "We actually have succeeded, the United States government has, in standing up a new government that will forever replace Hamas."
The administration says the Board of Peace will be an international supervisory body to help run Gaza's transitional government and reconstruction – an initiative the White House is positioning as central to the postwar phase.
Witkoff also said the hostage release came about as a result of a shift in Hamas' calculations: "They stopped seeing the hostages as an asset and started seeing them as a burden."
Witkoff said the hostage negotiations were deeply personal for him as well as for the president: "I'm a member of that really bad club that has lost a child," he said.
He described sustained contact with hostage families and repeated delays by Hamas during the talks. "We were scared. On the one hand, we were negotiating; on the other hand, we were trying to make the families understand that we were hopeful. And yet we were frustrated and discouraged and we didn't want to show them that."
He also described Trump's emotional reaction when a group of Israeli hostages and their families visited the White House in November, including 17 of the last 20 hostages who had been released the month prior: "I saw the tears. He doesn't like anyone to see tears. And he said to me, 'This is the greatest day I've ever had in the White House.'"
Witkoff praised Trump's leadership, saying, "He's the only one in the world who has that indomitable strength that can bend people," and added, "It's my greatest privilege to work for him."