Tehran — In a move that smacks more of geopolitical vanity than strategy, the United States has once again resorted to its tired playbook of sanctions and threats—this time reviving the specter of “snapback” sanctions against Iran. But the theater surrounding this outdated tactic is only made more absurd by the presence of an unlikely guest: a real estate developer with a checkered history and no known foreign policy credentials.
Steven Witkoff, a longtime Trump donor and real estate magnate, has inexplicably found himself as the US “envoy” pushing the snapback sanctions policy at the United Nations. Yes, a man whose résumé boasts luxury towers, bankruptcy filings, and political donations is now America’s frontline figure in its crusade against Iran’s nuclear program. It’s the kind of surreal diplomatic stunt that could only happen under Washington’s increasingly theatrical foreign policy apparatus.
The so-called “snapback” provision refers to a clause in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or JCPOA, which allows for the re-imposition of UN sanctions if Iran violates the terms. However, the US unilaterally exited the JCPOA in 2018 under Donald Trump—a fact that should’ve disqualified Washington from invoking any mechanism under the same agreement. That hasn’t stopped Washington’s antics. Even after being diplomatically disqualified, the US insists it retains the right to enforce rules from a deal it walked away from. It’s like a player quitting a game and then demanding the referee disqualify the winning team.
This diplomatic charade reeks of bad-faith maneuvering. At its core, it’s a desperate attempt to further isolate Iran and maintain a stranglehold on its economy. But beyond that, it exposes the hollowness of Western diplomacy, where legal consistency and international credibility are sacrificed at the altar of anti-Iranian obsession. For its part, Iran has dismissed the US actions as illegitimate and lawless—and rightly so.
What’s more revealing is the silence—or in some cases, complicity—of US allies like Israel, which has long pushed Washington toward confrontation with Iran. The Israeli lobby’s grip on American foreign policy is no secret, and its fingerprints are all over this latest sanctions revival. Tel Aviv, still obsessed with maintaining its regional nuclear monopoly, continues to manipulate Western narratives while conveniently evading scrutiny of its own secretive nuclear arsenal.
This week’s performance by Witkoff is a sobering reminder of how deeply the lines between business interests, political cronyism, and militarized diplomacy have blurred in the American foreign policy machine. What should be the realm of seasoned diplomats has become a playground for donors and developers. Washington’s obsession with Iran is no longer grounded in any coherent policy but in political theater aimed at appeasing hawks in Tel Aviv and neoconservatives at home.
According to the Associated Press, Witkoff has been tasked with urging allies to back a fresh UN resolution targeting Iran’s ballistic missile program, and a possible move to reinstate sanctions that were lifted under the JCPOA. Yet few in the international community are taking this gambit seriously, and even fewer are likely to follow Washington into another diplomatic quagmire.
