President Donald Trump announced Sunday the appointment of Tom Barrack, the current US Ambassador to Turkey, as Special Presidential Envoy to both Syria and Iraq, a dual role that signals Washington's intensifying diplomatic engagement across the region.
Tom Barrack, Reuters/Bing Guan/Mena Today
President Donald Trump announced Sunday the appointment of Tom Barrack, the current US Ambassador to Turkey, as Special Presidential Envoy to both Syria and Iraq, a dual role that signals Washington's intensifying diplomatic engagement across the region.
"Tom Barrack has done an outstanding job," Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that Barrack would "operate with the full backing of the United States Department of State" while retaining his post as Ambassador to Ankara.
The appointment reflects the growing strategic importance the Trump administration places on its relationships with both Damascus and Baghdad. "As we advance our strategic cooperation with the Governments of Syria and Iraq, our relationship with them continues to grow," the president noted.
The decision to keep Barrack simultaneously as Ambassador to Turkey is significant, given Ankara's pivotal role in Syrian affairs and its complex relationship with both Baghdad and Washington. Having a single envoy straddling all three capitals could streamline US diplomacy across a region where the interests of Turkey, Syria and Iraq are deeply intertwined.
The appointments take effect immediately.
Lebanon and Syria will in the coming months begin revising decades-old trade agreements to revive their economic relationship following the ouster of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in 2024, Lebanon's economy minister told Reuters on Thursday.
Syrian authorities said on Thursday they had foiled an attempt to smuggle advanced weapons and missiles across the border from Iraq, with state news agency SANA citing an Interior Ministry source as saying the shipment appeared destined for militant group Hezbollah.
A former senior Mossad official is warning that Turkey has outgrown its role as just another regional player, it's now angling to lead the entire Sunni axis, with Qatar as its financial muscle.
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