Tapped to advise Steve Witkoff on Iran, Nick Stewart previously condemned dealing with any of Iran’s elected leaders. His presence consolidates military conflict as the Trump administration’s only option, writes Max Blumenthal.
President Donald Trump addressing military families at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Feb. 13, 2026. (White House /Daniel Torok)
By Max Blumenthal
The Grayzone
The latest addition to the Trump administration’s Iran negotiation team, Nick Stewart, has declared his absolute opposition to negotiating with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
According to Stewart, “it’s important that we disabuse people of that notion” that anyone among Iran’s current leadership could serve as an “honest broker.”
Stewart argued that even the reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian must be treated as an inveterate enemy because he is “a part of the theocratic, tyrannical, authoritarian government of Iran.” He insisted that Pezeshkian “is not a reformer and we shouldn’t buy into that narrative, because what it does is it throws us off our guard.”
Stewart made these comments while chairing a panel for the pro-war Vandenberg Coalition in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 4, 2024. He was seated beside Cameron Khansarinia, chief of staff of self-proclaimed “Crown Prince” Reza Pahlavi; neoconservative ideologue and former special advisor for Iran Elliot Abrams, and Behnam Ben Taleblu, an operative at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD).
At the time, Stewart functioned as FDD’s top Capitol Hill lobbyist.
When it was founded in 2001, FDD was named EMET, which is Hebrew for “truth.” The think tank described its mission as working to “enhance Israel’s image in North America and the public’s understanding of issues affecting Israeli-Arab relations.”
In 2017, a top Israeli military-intelligence official cited FDD as a partner in a covert Israeli campaign to spy on Americans involved in Palestine solidarity activism. Under Trump, the outfit has dictated the administration’s Iran policy to the point that the White House plagiarized its justification for attacking Iran from a document posted on FDD’s website.
Stewart was reportedly selected by Jared Kushner to advise Steve Witkoff, a real estate mogul and Trump golf buddy who serves as the ironically titled Special Envoy for Peace Missions. Kushner Witkoff’s demonstrable ignorance of Iranian affairs, reflexive deference to Israel and crude profiteering helped inspire Iran’s rejection of the last round of negotiations. With Stewart on their team, it should be obvious to Tehran that there is no honest broker in Washington.
The editor-in-chief of The Grayzone, Max Blumenthal is an award-winning journalist and the author of several books, including best-selling Republican Gomorrah, Goliath, The Fifty One Day War and The Management of Savagery. He has produced print articles for an array of publications, many video reports, and several documentaries, including Killing Gaza. Blumenthal founded The Grayzone in 2015 to shine a journalistic light on America’s state of perpetual war and its dangerous domestic repercussions.
This article is from The Grayzone.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
The presence of hard-line Zionist “negotiators” on the US’ so-called negotiating team automatically eliminates any semblance of sincerity on the part of the Americans.
They persist in using inexperienced, ignorant, and belligerent individuals who clearly have an agenda that is in the worst possible interests of Iran – that is to harm Iran and its people even more.
They know full well that the Iranians don’t trust them or the Zionists as far as they can kick them [which is quite far these days!].
Credit to the Iranians for acting in good faith and proposing solutions, despite knowing the Americans won’t even consider them seriously.
Hands Down!” Operation $melly Cat, lives! “With Stewart on their team, it should be obvious to Tehran that there is no honest broker in Washington.” Max Blumenthal.
No worries! The “SNAP!” Heard ‘round the world,”UNO!” From his Cat Box aka $and Bunker, DJ “U Turn” Trump, serves up his “last” card, a one-page piece proposal aka a memorandum of understanding, a*“chicken stick”. Concluding POTUS is a buzzard NOT a soaring Eagle.
And, a “Duffer” aka Hacker Extreme!” NOT even a mediocre Statesman much f/less a Diplomat. Catapulting plant, animal, human life into inescapable thick rough w/a “Watery Grave: A final resting place” for DJTrump’s-Vance’s Inc., “Miss-Hit” shots on the land, air, sea.
“Pray for Birdies”. TY, Max Blumenthal, CN. “Keep it Lit!”
* Chicken Stick: If faced with a difficult shot, a golfer will choose a play-it-safe club that is within his capabilities to properly complete the shot.
Looks like the Zionists are getting desperate; they must have presold all those luxury condos to be built on the beautiful GAZA shore. I am sure Iran is taking notes. “Negotiation” etc. is nothing but a joke and we all know it; even doubters are beginning to see the light: that this has been nothing more than another attempt to dominate a sovereign country who has never sought to expend its “empire”, who is the victim of the US avarice and sadism using “democracy” as an excuse to steal its resources.
Authoritarian selects authoritarian. Knowing the names of the persons doesn’t make any difference. They each and all reflect the rigidity, predictable absence of creativity, and core violence typifying Trump. “Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a prominent historian and NYU professor specializing in fascism, authoritarianism, and propaganda. ” (AI)Her substack is called “Lucid.” She said the authoritarian always selects inferiors to surround himself with.What a goopy, goon, inferior group of humanity at the “head” of the USA today. They show us minute to minute the cluelessness (especially of simple “decency”) and basic violent/punitive nature of such a bunch that also characterizes today’s USA’s disaster capitalists/capitalism.
The inmates ARE running the asylum.
Interesting, as someone who tries to avoid the LCPM (Lying Capitalist Pig Media), I have never heard the name Nick Stewart in connection to these “negotiations” (aka, demands for surrender and submission or else). Although, it is nice for the alternative media to try to direct me to the LCPM CBS Zionist news to get me to read the LCPM ‘news’.
The last time ‘negotiators’ were mentioned was when Trump cancelled their trip to Pakistan. This Stewart dude was not a part of that. Since, all ‘negotiations’ have been conducted ‘by phone’ according to Trump. Reports from the region talk of attempts to use intermediaries beside Pakistan, namely Iraq and Turkey. Again, no mentions of a guy named Stewart. What negotiations that are actually occurring appear to be that Iran is accepting notes from America, and then responding that these are rejected, before reiterating their own notes.
So, the only negotiations that are really occurring are only discussions about how to have discussions. In the LCPM, we get tall tales from Trump of ongoing negotiations, which apparently are going “great” for America and Trump is about to get everything he wants. Except Iran agreeing to Trump’s BS, which is not happening, so far. And the big fallacy is that the loser of a war gets to control the negotiations, and thus that it matters what the loser’s new ‘negotiator’ wants.