The Global Story: Russia and Israel put Witkoff's diplomacy to the test

Global News Podcast

BBC

Daily News, News

4.3 • 8.3K Ratings

🗓️ 14 September 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Donald Trump wants to broker peace in two of the world’s most intractable wars: Gaza and Ukraine. But this week, both crises have escalated – and the man he’s tasked with solving them has no previous diplomatic experience.

Steve Witkoff, a real estate mogul and Trump’s closest confidante, is now at the centre of American foreign policy as the ‘envoy for everything’.

On today’s Global Story, we speak with the BBC’s State Department Correspondent, Tom Bateman, and ask whether Witkoff’s unconventional style is a weakness – or a strength.

Every weekday, this is The Global Story. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption. For more episodes, just search 'The Global Story' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts.

Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Aron Keller Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins

Image: President Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff. Sarah Yenesel/EPA/Shutterstock

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, I'm Asma Khalid. And I'm Tristan Redmond. And we're here with a new weekly bonus for you from the Global Story podcast. The world order is shifting. Old alliances are fraying and new ones are emerging. Some of this turbulence can be traced to decisions made in the United States. But the U.S. isn't just a cause of the upheaval. Its politics are also a
0:23.2	symptom of it. Every day we focus on one story, looking at how America and the world shape each other.
0:29.7	So we hope you enjoy this episode. And to find more of our show, just search for the global story,
0:36.3	wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
0:39.3	Donald Trump wants to make two big diplomatic deals, Gaza and Ukraine. And this week, both of
0:48.6	them are on the rocks. On Tuesday, Trump's Middle East plan took a big hit
0:56.7	when Israel targeted the Hamas negotiators in Qatar.
1:02.0	That's America's closest Middle East ally firing missiles into its second closest Middle East ally.
1:10.3	On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin was testing the boundaries of NATO.
1:15.9	Poland's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has confirmed that Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace overnight.
1:22.5	Polish and NATO jets were scrambled to shoot down Russian drones that violated its airspace.
1:27.8	Poland's Prime Minister says his country is the closest it's been to open conflict since World War II.
1:34.4	The incursion by Russian drones into Polish airspace was another big hit for Trump.
1:40.5	You can, I think, quite convincingly argue right now that not only has he been played by President Putin,
1:49.1	he's also been played by Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel.
1:53.3	President Trump, his ambitions to be this Nobel Peace Prize-winning ender of wars,
2:00.2	appears to be, you know, hitting another roadblock.
2:06.2	And at the centre of all of this
2:08.4	is the man Donald Trump asked to sold these two wars for him.
2:13.4	His best friend, somebody with zero diplomatic experience, Steve Whitkoff.
2:21.4	From the BBC, I'm Tristan Redmond, and this is the global story.
2:27.2	On today's episode, who is Steve Whitkoff, Trump's envoy for everything,
	...

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