On June 3, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack will leave the position after his formal term ends, but he will continue to play a key role in managing US policy on Syria and Iraq.
Barrack, a real estate billionaire and longtime associate of President Donald Trump, had served as special envoy for Syria since May 2025, concurrently holding the post of US Ambassador to Turkey.
“Ambassador Tom Barrack has been invaluable as our Special Envoy to Syria,” Rubio wrote in a statement posted on social media platform X. “Though that title has expired, he will continue to serve in a lead role for the Trump administration on Syria and Iraq, where his expertise, relationships, and understanding of the ‘America First’ agenda will continue to deliver successes for our great country.”
Nanar Hawach, a senior analyst on Syria at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera: “Barrack’s special envoy title has expired, but his role has not, and he remains Washington’s point person on Syria, Iraq, and Turkey. The expiration changes very little in practice, because he was already coordinating all three files together. By keeping him in place without naming a successor, Washington wants to signal continuity and maintain existing relationships rather than reboot Syria policy.”
During his one-year tenure as Syria envoy, Barrack directed Washington’s approach to the transition to the post-Assad government of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. He exerted significant influence on US policy by pushing to ease heavy economic sanctions on Damascus and coordinating counter-Islamic State (IS) campaigns with regional allies, including Turkey and Gulf states.
The private equity investor had raised substantial capital from United Arab Emirates (UAE) investment funds. Although acquitted in 2022 on federal charges that he acted as an unregistered agent for Abu Dhabi, his ties have frequently raised questions about Gulf states’ financial influence on US policy.
Barrack’s tenure in Syria also drew criticism. His mediation of a ceasefire and merger agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) provoked sharp criticism from Kurdish leaders, who accused Washington of abandoning long-standing allies in favor of the central government.
He also sparked backlash in Lebanon after telling reporters at a chaotic press conference to behave “civilized” rather than “savage.”
His public comments suggesting that “benevolent monarchy” and authoritarian rule is more suited to the Middle East than democracy stirred controversy, while opposition leaders in Turkey, where he remains ambassador, have frequently criticized him for acting like a “colonial governor.”
So far, the US State Department has not announced a successor for the special envoy to Syria.
