WASHINGTON, D.C. / Content Syndication Services / — U.S. President Donald Trump named Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, as special presidential envoy to Syria and Iraq, adding Iraq to a regional diplomatic brief that already included Syria. Trump announced the appointment on May 31 and said Barrack would continue serving in Ankara while taking on both envoy titles with the support of the U.S. State Department.
The announcement came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Barrack’s formal title as special envoy for Syria was expiring, while his work on Syria and Iraq would continue. Rubio later described Barrack as the main U.S. interlocutor on Syria and a trusted U.S. representative on Iraq. The statements clarified Barrack’s status after questions over the Syria position and the management of Iraq-related diplomatic engagement.
Barrack now holds three public-facing diplomatic roles in the Trump administration: ambassador to Turkey, special presidential envoy to Syria and special presidential envoy to Iraq. The appointment places both Syria and Iraq under a single named presidential envoy while keeping Barrack in his Senate-confirmed ambassadorial post. Trump said the United States is strengthening strategic cooperation with both governments and said relations with Syria and Iraq continue to grow.
Expanded regional remit
Barrack was nominated by Trump to be ambassador to Turkey in March 2025 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April 2025. He took on the Syria envoy role in May 2025 while retaining the embassy post in Ankara. His official biography identifies him as founder and former chairman and chief executive of Colony Capital and as a former deputy undersecretary in the U.S. Interior Department.
His Syria assignment began during a wider U.S. engagement with Damascus after the change of government in Syria in late 2024. Barrack visited Damascus in 2025 as Washington resumed limited high-level contact with Syrian officials while the U.S. Embassy in Damascus remained officially closed. U.S. officials at the time discussed sanctions relief, counterterrorism and diplomatic access as part of contacts involving Syria and regional governments.
State Department backing
The Iraq title makes Barrack the named presidential envoy for Baghdad as well as Damascus, giving him a formal role on both files while he remains ambassador to Turkey. The United States and Iraq maintain diplomatic relations through the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and Iraq’s embassy in Washington. Bilateral ties include security, economic and energy issues under the Strategic Framework Agreement between the two governments.
Trump’s announcement did not say Barrack would relinquish any existing responsibilities, and Rubio’s comments said State Department support for his work would continue. Barrack’s dual envoy designations leave him as the named U.S. official for presidential-level engagement with Syria and Iraq while serving as ambassador to Turkey. The appointment is the latest formal personnel move by the Trump administration in its Middle East diplomatic team.