Tom Barrack

Trump consolidates Middle East policy by appointing Special Envoy Barrack to Iraq, Syria - analysis

US Envoy Tom Barrack has played a key role in US policy in the Middle East over the past year. He was appointed Special Envoy to Syria last year. He is also the US Ambassador to Turkey.

 US ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a meeting with US President Donald Trump and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on September 25, 2025 in Washington.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2025.

Trump, Sharaa hold phone call, discuss lifting sanctions, importance of 'prioritizing diplomacy'

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, meets with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Ankara, last April. Ankara is quietly assembling the architecture of permanent regional power, the writer says.

Turkey eyes post-Iran Middle East as regional order shifts - analysis

US SPECIAL ENVOY for Syria Tom Barrack speaks at a news conference in Damascus in September 2025.

Tom Barrack leaves Syria envoy role after steering post-Assad outreach


Syria, Israel near 'de-escalation' pact, US envoy says

Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and U.S. special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack speaks after meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (not pictured) at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon August 26, 2025.

Syrian foreign minister to discuss lifting of US sanctions in Washington this week, Axios reports

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani is due to meet US lawmakers in Washington to discuss lifting sanctions and advancing a security deal with Israel, Senator Lindsey Graham was cited as saying.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, August 12, 2025.

Syrian leader says talks with Israel underway on disengagement agreement

Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara’a said talks with Israel aim to restore the 1974 disengagement terms, as Damascus balances outreach to the US, Russia, and regional states.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with a map of the Middle East (Illustrative).

Pentagon approves security assistance package for Lebanon worth $14.2 million

The Pentagon approved a package that will aid the Lebanese Armed Forces's disarmament of Hezbollah

Lebanon's Hezbollah members hold party flags as they listen to their leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressing his supporters via a screen during a rally marking the anniversary of the defeat of militants near the Lebanese-Syrian border, in al-Ain village, Lebanon August 25, 2019.

'Arrogance of a cowboy': US envoy slammed for off-the-cuff remark in Lebanon

As ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Syria, Barrack has not usually caused offense, though his role on Syria policy has led to some controversy among those who support the US-backed SDF.

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and U.S. special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack speaks after meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (not pictured) at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon August 26, 2025.

US lawmakers Shaheen, Wilson return to Syria for continued talks with Sharaa

Syria's new president furthered his efforts at strengthening international relationships by meeting with US representatives for a fresh round of talks.

 Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack as they are flanked by Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Hassan al-Shibani in Istanbul, Turkey, May 24, 2025.

Lebanon to draft plan for Hezbollah disarmament on Sunday, US envoy says

Israel will give a counterproposal when it receives Lebanon's plan, Barrack said after meeting with the Lebanese president in Beirut.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem appears on a screen as people gather to watch the public funeral ceremony of Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, who were killed in Israeli airstrikes last year, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon February 23, 2025.

US envoys Barrack, Ortagus in Israel for talks on Syria and Lebanon

Senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham will join the two envoys in Beirut on Monday, The Jerusalem Post can exclusively reveal.

US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack and Deputy Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus arrive to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, in Beirut, Lebanon, August 18, 2025

Israel demands Lebanon buffer zone, agrees to tone down Hezbollah strikes - report

Israel reportedly insisted that several villages on the border remain without residents and act as a buffer zone, which countered Tom Barrack's proposals.

 IDF troops operate in southern Lebanon. January 23, 2025.

Druze spiritual leader meets with US envoy to Syria and Lebanon in Paris

Sheikh Tarif requested that the United States work to fully implement the ceasefire agreement in a complete and immediate manner in the Druze Mountain region of Syria.

People hold a Druze flag, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces, in Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria July 25, 2025.