{"id":120469,"date":"2025-04-14T17:00:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T15:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=120469"},"modified":"2025-04-14T13:58:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T11:58:06","slug":"14-05-118","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=120469","title":{"rendered":"Did Iran ally Qatar purchase Trump envoy Steve Witkoff?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.reunion68.com\/Biuletyn\/img\/jns-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"35%\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000080;\"><span><strong><a style=\"color: #000080; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/did-iran-ally-qatar-purchase-trump-envoy-steve-witkoff\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Did Iran ally Qatar purchase Trump envoy Steve Witkoff?<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Jonathan S. Tobin<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u201cThink Twice\u201d with Jonathan Tobin and guest Michael Pregent, Ep. 173<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content-alignment\">\n<div id=\"watch-description\" class=\"yt-uix-button-panel\">\n<div id=\"watch-description-text\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Did Iran-ally Qatar buy Trump envoy Steve Witkoff? | Think Twice\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KaOragnEQf8\" width=\"680\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<span style=\"color: #000080;\">How does Qatar get away with it? That\u2019s the question that JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin is asking. Qatar is not only a close ally of Iran and a funder of Hamas, but also does the most to spread Islamist ideology and hatred for Israel in America. It\u2019s also gotten away with posing as an honest broker in the Middle East and an American ally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">He\u2019s joined in this week\u2019s episode of \u201cThink Twice\u201d by veteran Middle East analyst and former U.S. military officer Michael Pregent, who has some of the answers to the question of Qatar\u2019s successful influence operation. According to him, it starts with American leaders in both parties who want to be flattered, but it is also largely driven by the Gulf emirate\u2019s buying of influence among opinion leaders, business people and politicians. As Pregent points out, there are a lot of lobbyists and other figures in Washington, D.C., who \u201ccouldn\u2019t pay their mortgages\u201d without the money they get either directly or indirectly from Qatar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The most prominent example is Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy to the Middle East. While many have been puzzled by Witkoff\u2019s public comments, including those made on Tucker Carlson\u2019s podcast in which he declared, contrary to the facts, that the Qataris are loyal U.S. allies, honest brokers, and not allied with Iran and Hamas. As Pregent points out, this clueless endorsement of the emirate must be seen in the context of Qatar\u2019s decision to bail him out on a real estate deal gone bad to the tune of $623 million.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">That calls into question Trump\u2019s decision to allow Witkoff to be the lead negotiator in a new diplomatic initiative aimed at persuading Iran to give up its nuclear program. Pregent notes that while the Obama and Biden administrations had envoys determined to appease leaders in Tehran, they did so because they believed in that dangerous policy. Witkoff is a diplomatic novice who is being played by people who helped him financially.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Witkoff is the most outrageous example of how a rogue nation works to exploit its financial clout to influence U.S. policy. Pregent says examples of Qatar\u2019s influence peddling abound in the United States, including its efforts to gain support from members of Congress, including both Republicans and Democrats, and its funding of Middle East studies departments at colleges where anti-Zionism has been mainstreamed. On top of that, Qatar owns<em>\u00a0Al Jazeera<\/em>, the Islamist propaganda news outlet far too often treated as a reliable source of information by many in the West.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Listen\/Subscribe to weekly episodes on\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/40hSPc9vzVBud3tbWUYPcL?si=ce4f4e5876ac4ba9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/top-story-with-jonathan-tobin\/id1566324417?uo=4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvNTQ5Njc0Ny9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/53-top-story-with-jonathan-tob-95592548\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">iHeart Radio<\/a>\u00a0or wherever you listen to your podcasts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Watch new episodes every week by subscribing to the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@JNS_TV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JNS YouTube Channel.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">This episode of \u201cThink Twice\u201d is sponsored by The Jewish Future Promise\u2014ensuring a vibrant and thriving future for Jews and Israel.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em>Sign the promise:\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/jewishfuturepromise.org\/jns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/jewishfuturepromise.org\/jns\/<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">JNS will host its inaugural International Policy Summit on Monday, April 28, 2025. This daylong event will convene government officials, policymakers, diplomats, security experts, leaders of pro-Israel organizations, and influencers for vital discussions aimed at addressing Israel\u2019s critical challenges and opportunities in a post-Oct. 7 world.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000080;\">Registration at this point is for invitees only. However, you can submit a request for registration using the following\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/reg.eventact.com\/\/welcome?Form=iZpQAAA&amp;c=iOAE&amp;Event=iUJEAAA&amp;lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">link<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content-alignment\">\n<div id=\"watch-description\" class=\"yt-uix-button-panel\">\n<div id=\"watch-description-text\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><em>Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion&#8217;68,<\/em><em><br \/>\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion&#8217;68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.<br \/>\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:<br \/>\n<\/em><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"mailto:webmaster@reunion68.com\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr style=\"width: 100%;\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did Iran ally Qatar purchase Trump envoy Steve Witkoff? Jonathan S. Tobin \u201cThink Twice\u201d with Jonathan Tobin and guest Michael Pregent, Ep. 173 How does Qatar get away with it? That\u2019s the question that JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin is asking. Qatar is not only a close ally of Iran and a funder of Hamas, but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120469"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=120469"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120483,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120469\/revisions\/120483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=120469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=120469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=120469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}