They say power is the ability to act without considering the consequences to others. Wouldn’t that promote the idea of skipping traditional negotiating hurdles to form fresh, circumspect,  transactional relationships between powerful, political actors if you’re a “Senior Adviser,” and your handshake belongs to that of Jared C. Kushner’s, navigating the dark nexus of money and power as right-hand man and son-in-law to President Donald J. Trump?

Examining Kushner’s fait accompli approach to Trump’s White House diplomacy reshapes the Iran talks in lots of little, interesting ways, perhaps characterized as top-down, hardline, business-centric, and in the case of “the smartest guy I’ve ever seen in my life,” the modern personification of Trump’s Art of the Deal in stealth wealth, streamlined, slim-fitting style.

Kushner’s way of doing his thing reveals a significant transforming of Iran relations from a foreign policy emphasizing cautious, pleasant, personal, negotiated diplomacy, exemplified with polished excellence by George H.W. Bush in his political life, to one driven by quiet-spoken maximum pressure, rapid-thinking, non-traditional “on the fly” deal-making, and high-risk brinkmanship.

Kushner, alongside U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, roughly 25 years older than he, and easily the more vocal and game of the two, provides the tail wagging the dog an Israeli leash, where Kushner, positioned on behalf of special interests, may be driving U.S. policy rather than vice-versa, where Netanyahu’s ultra-right-wing, populist government could, in theory, be influencing the White House’s agenda to seize Iran’s resources for favorable conditions in the Middle East, that’s if you’re on Netanyahu’s side of things, with two envoys thrown a bone.

But Kushner and Witkoff have been thrown a loop, because Iranian officials aren’t so thrilled about renewed negotiations even as the envoys set foot in Pakistan for the meeting of minds and cold hearts via a ceasefire set to lift Wednesday, like a helium balloon escaping doom.

The U.S. played the joker card from a stripper deck after the seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship playing its hand with the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.

If they’d just scratch hillbilly J.D. Vance and his cell phone during Iranian peace talks, with Netanyahu on the line, and replace the Vice-President, with his Peter Thiel-trained eye on the Presidency, and throw in Mel Brooks, pushing 100, they could soon swing a true peace deal,  because no one alive can work a room like the comic mastermind, but if he had laid eyes on Vance, he’d have dreams of Young Frankenstein II, with J.D. naturally playing the monster.

Looks like Mr. Brooks will be a no show this Wednesday in Pakistan, and even J.D. Vance is dragging his big Hollywood foot. But don’t you know, Mr. Eyes Wide Shut and Witkoff are ready to freewheel it, even with Iran putting the bad in Islamabad by Tehran killing talks.

If only Iran’s President Pezeshkian would read my TOI blog post, he’d discover a new way to  seek an end to the warfare with “honor, wisdom, and prudence” in Susa’s Red Rock Accord.

I doubt his subscription exists, unless a kept dirty secret, but a miracle may happen in Iran.

Fait accompli diplomatic strategy must be applied. Expect the two Special U.S. Envoys to change the facts on the ground before the Iranians can react, and take a nepotistic cue from Kushner’s father-in-law, groomed by Roy Cohn, relying on speed, confidentiality, presenting accomplished facts to code whispered details from high-level negotiators, treating them as truth to be swallowed whole, with J.D Vance holding the spoon of medicine at the podium.

Much like “Dr. Bill” and paternal “Ziegler” in Kubrick’s final film, Kushner is navigating an unknown, dangerous world,.where political actors play for keeps, with Witkoff’s influential charm taking lead, treating U.S diplomacy as private citizen real-estate ventures to procure wealth dressed up as U.S. policy rather than as a political, altruistic process with the best of intentions.

Kushner’s has spoken of “deep, trusted relationships” to defend his unconventional approach to diplomatic ties, born from nepotism, and wealth procurement, that I illuminate as being  Eyes Wide Shut in approach. By mixing business and the pleasure of masking it as political finesse when submitting himself formally as U.S. Envoy rather chillingly in the public eye, as if his moral compass has faded away, his investment firm, Affinity Partners, has secured substantial investment from foreign sources, including the coveted Saudi sovereign wealth fund. Against sound Saudi advisory panels flagging Kushner unsatisfactory, to only have the Crown Prince Salman overrule them, Kushner was wired the amount of $2 billion dollars, that after sources claimed Kushner discussed the names of Saudi royal family members opposed to MBS’s rise, using gained intelligence lifted from the President’s Daily Brief.

A week after their meeting, MBS launched a crackdown at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, arresting numerous royal family members, some of whom were reportedly discussed.

Kushner and Witkoff assert pocketed friendships of the essential type in the Arab world and Israel have enabled them as U.S envoys, working from an impromptu Middle Eastern script, to achieve tendered plans in the Middle East, unveiled at the World Economic Forum.

Noting that without their leveraged pull, the pushed peace involving gained riches regarding Gaza wouldn’t have easily occurred, building trust between parties where none historically existed, aiming to demilitarize Gaza and rebuild the Strip with Eyes Wide Shut-focus on commercial development, including coastal tourism, a Trump statue, and infrastructure.

Over 70,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed, including thousands of young lives, with over 167,000 injured and maimed, according to reporting from health officials. Over 80% of Gaza’s buildings are damaged or destroyed, creating a massive humanitarian crisis, despite ceasefires as tactics and peace initiatives the same.

2026 Israeli airstrikes and operations continue to cause high civilian tolls and catastrophe.

Israel’s official position led by Netanyahu holding on to the cliff of political power is that its military operations target Hamas, certainly a bad actor, which it accuses of using civilians as human shields by operating within residential areas, bringing justification to said genocide,

Regardless of whether war crimes have been committed, Israeli ends justify the meanness.

So, Kushner, as as political operative under his father-in law having threatening Iran with similar destruction this month, and having mimicked Christ’s healing via Truth Social, and having resurrecting his profanity on Easter Sunday morning in unholy rant, have together pursued a collective strategy fixed on the arguably post-war crime reconstruction of Gaza, unarguably positioning them as U.S. elites. by erased lives, to play a central role in a multi-billion, private-sector-led rehabilitation, with Trump nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Regarding Kushner’s Nobel “moves,” Pearl S. Buck’s Nobel Prize-winning literature and humanitarian stance for the “common person” and steely opposition to narrow elite, falsely altruistic interests, would likely have made her skeptical, if alive, of Kushner’s influence in navigating U.S. foreign policy on the public stage and power corridors behind the scenes.

Kushner, virtually standing on the remains of misfortune, has coldly described Gaza’s “waterfront property” as “very valuable” and has specified a “master plan” that envisions transforming the war-torn Gaza strip into his futuristic “New Gaza” with luxury-rises, modern appointments, high-speed rail tourism, and “Project Sunrise” industrial zones.

Big-big plans. Zero big-big concern for leveraging crisis.

The guy has a beautiful family and sharp mind. But why the profound arrogance and lack of self-awareness, masked by a false sense of security in his own shrewdness and superiority?

Have I dressed down Kushner? He and I have both been hard-core, high-end art collectors.

My understanding is that the gentleman likes modern and masculine art. I like vibrant, natural, one-of-a-kind genius, but I’ve cherished a myriad of 20th century expressions.

Christiane Kubrick is my favorite living artist.

And Katharina Kubrick a close, close second.

What a life Stanley lived to share visual genius at Childwickbury… Eyes Wide Open.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)