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Welcome back to Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Situation Report, where, like U.S. President Donald Trump, we also occasionally enjoy walking around our office rooftop area<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alright, here\u2019s what\u2019s on tap for the day: Unpacking U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff\u2019s fifth trip to Moscow<\/strong>, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s controversial Gaza takeover proposal<\/strong>, and a new U.S. tariff on semiconductors<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It often seems as though Steve Witkoff is doing everything, everywhere, all at once. Trump initially tapped Witkoff to be his special envoy to the Middle East. But it wasn\u2019t long before Witkoff\u2014who some view as the de facto secretary of state\u2014was spearheading diplomatic talks for the Trump administration on an array of other issues, including Ukraine.<\/p>\n Witkoff traveled to Moscow this week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the Trump administration continues to push for a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. Trump, who reentered the White House in January confident that he could quickly end the war, has grown impatient with Putin<\/a> as Russia has continued to pummel Ukraine with airstrikes. Witkoff\u2019s visit to Russia came ahead of a Friday deadline Trump set for Moscow to stop the war or face new sanctions.<\/p>\n Trump said<\/a> \u201cgreat progress\u201d was made during Witkoff\u2019s meeting with Putin, but there did not appear to be any major breakthroughs, and secondary sanctions are still expected to be implemented against Russia on Friday. Moscow is now pushing for a meeting between Trump and Putin, but it\u2019s unclear<\/a> if that will happen. In short, a Ukraine peace deal remains elusive.<\/p>\n This is part of a broader trend<\/a> when it comes to the issues Witkoff has been the Trump administration\u2019s point man on.<\/p>\n Witkoff is Trump\u2019s \u201cMr. Fix It,\u201d and the president has placed an unparalleled level of trust in him to tackle a number of the globe\u2019s most intractable problems, from the Iran nuclear issue to Israel\u2019s war in Gaza to the Russia-Ukraine war and more. But how much has Witkoff actually fixed?<\/p>\n Mixed record.<\/strong> Witkoff did help secure a six-week cease-fire in Gaza that began back in January<\/a>. But that truce collapsed in March, and Witkoff has been unsuccessful in subsequent efforts for a new cease-fire deal.<\/p>\n Witkoff also played a key role in facilitating a U.S. truce with the Houthis in Yemen and securing the release of an American imprisoned in Russia as well as an Israeli American hostage held by Hamas. Hostage families in Israel have also given Witkoff a lot of credit<\/a> for the attention he\u2019s given to them and the mission of bringing their loved ones home from Gaza.<\/p>\n In a recent meeting, Witkoff reportedly told hostage families that he\u2019s working on a plan to end the war in Gaza and facilitate the return of all hostages. But given that Israel just announced<\/a> plans to fully occupy the territory, it appears increasingly unlikely that the conflict will end in the near future\u2014and there are concerns that expanding the Israeli military\u2019s footprint will endanger those hostages still held alive by Hamas.<\/p>\n Witkoff was also tasked with leading nuclear talks with Iran. In the midst of those discussions, Israel launched a 12-day war against Iran that culminated with the United States bombing key Iranian nuclear sites. There\u2019s still no nuclear agreement, and it\u2019s up in the air<\/a> whether Tehran will reenter talks with Washington.<\/p>\n In over his head? <\/strong>Witkoff\u2019s role in the Trump administration is unorthodox for a number of reasons, including the fact that his background is in real estate and he has no prior experience in government or diplomacy.<\/p>\n Critics of Witkoff have warned that he\u2019s in over his head and has been given responsibility over complicated issues that would be better handled by career diplomats and experts. They\u2019ve emphasized that Witkoff appears too easily manipulated<\/a> by Putin in particular, and raised alarm over the Trump envoy echoing the Kremlin\u2019s talking points<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Trump, who\u2019s embraced a transactional approach to foreign affairs, views Witkoff as a skilled dealmaker. The president\u2019s reliance on Witkoff is indicative of his tendency to value loyalty over expertise, as well as his willingness to break from tradition in Washington.<\/p>\n Still, given Trump\u2019s mercurial nature\u2014and his history of falling out with top aides\u2014it\u2019s hard not to wonder whether the president will grow impatient with the lack of progress Witkoff has made on some of the bigger issues the administration is prioritizing, especially a Russia-Ukraine deal.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pressure\u2019s been on President Putin for a while now. President Trump is trying to ratchet that up \u2026 but this is now Witkoff\u2019s fifth trip to Moscow, and I think the pressure is on Witkoff as well to come back with something other than an empty hand,\u201d Torrey Taussig, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told SitRep.<\/p>\n Dame Stella Rimington, the first woman to lead the British intelligence agency MI5, died on Sunday, the agency announced<\/a>. She was 90.<\/p>\n Rimington first joined the agency in 1969 and served as its director-general from 1992 to 1996 before retiring. As multiple<\/a> obituaries<\/a> noted, she was widely considered to be the inspiration for the character M\u2014played by Dame Judi Dench\u2014in the James Bond<\/em> films.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the first avowed female head of any intelligence agency in the world, Dame Stella broke through long-standing barriers and was a visible example of the importance of diversity in leadership,\u201d Ken McCallum, the current MI5 director-general, said in a statement.<\/p>\n What should be high on your radar, if it isn\u2019t already.<\/em><\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s Gaza takeover ambitions. <\/strong>Despite rapidly growing global outrage at Israel\u2019s war in Gaza and pressure over what the United Nations describes<\/a> as \u201cmounting evidence of famine and widespread starvation,\u201d Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Thursday that his government plans to take over the territory entirely.<\/p>\n \u201cWe intend to, in order to ensure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza, and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel,\u201d Netanyahu said in an interview<\/a> with Fox News<\/em>.<\/p>\n The Israeli military has said it already controls about 75 percent of Gaza\u2019s territory, with most of Gaza\u2019s 2 million residents clustered into the remaining 25 percent.<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s takeover plan is unpopular even within Israel, with the country\u2019s military chief<\/a> as well as Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid warning against it, but it has broad support among the far-right Israeli political parties holding Netanyahu\u2019s coalition government together.<\/p>\n Iran sanctions update. <\/strong>The United States slapped new sanctions<\/a> on Iran for the second time in two weeks, this time targeting the country\u2019s financial sector. The U.S. Treasury Department\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Thursday announced that it was sanctioning 18 Iranian entities that \u201cplay pivotal roles in the Iranian regime\u2019s efforts to generate revenue and circumvent U.S. sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n Foremost among those is the RUNC Exchange System Company, which OFAC said helped develop the country\u2019s international bank messaging system that the Iranian regime uses to trade outside its borders. The department also sanctioned three of RUNC\u2019s seniormost leaders.<\/p>\n Other sanctioned entities include an offshore bank located off Iran\u2019s southern coast in the Persian Gulf and a financial software company that the Trump administration accused of working with the Iranian government to \u201cdevelop surveillance technologies for the Iranian police state.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, the Treasury Department imposed what it called the \u201clargest\u201d sanctions on Iran since 2018, targeting<\/a> an Iranian shipping network critical to the country\u2019s oil exports.<\/p>\n Chip tariffs. <\/strong>Trump dropped yet another trade bombshell on Wednesday, telling reporters at the White House that his administration planned to impose a \u201ctariff of approximately 100 percent on chips and semiconductors.\u201d<\/p>\n He added one important caveat, however, with an acknowledgment to Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was standing next to him, to announce the company\u2019s new $100 billion investment<\/a> in the United States. (Cook also gifted Trump<\/a> a Kentucky-made glass trophy bearing the Apple logo atop a base made out of 24-karat gold.)<\/p>\n \u201cBut the good news for companies like Apple is if you\u2019re building in the United States, or have without question committed to build in the United States, there will be no charge,\u201d Trump added. It is not yet clear to what extent Trump\u2019s statement is official policy, or when the tariff on semiconductors will go into effect, though an announcement could reportedly<\/a> come as soon as next week.<\/p>\n