Trump ousts Iraq Envoy Mark Savaya – reports

2026-02-01 - 05:46

Shafaq News– Washington/ Baghdad Mark Savaya, appointed by US President Donald Trump as special envoy for Iraq in October 2025, no longer holds the position, sources familiar with the decision told Reuters. One source attributed the move to Savaya’s “mishandling” of sensitive issues, including his alleged failure to prevent the nomination of former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to return to office —a scenario Trump had publicly warned Baghdad against. According to the source and a senior Iraqi official, Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy to Syria who visited Erbil earlier this week for meetings linked to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is expected to take over the State Department’s Iraq portfolio. US authorities have not issued an official statement on the claims. This is a breaking story...