Shafaq News – Baghdad

The National Wisdom Movement (Al-Hikma), led by Ammar al-Hakim, described the appointment of Mark Savaya as US special envoy to Iraq on Monday as a routine diplomatic step.

US President Donald Trump appointed Savaya, an Iraqi Chaldean-born businessman, on Sunday, making him the third to formally hold the role after Paul Bremer and Brett McGurk—key figures in post-2003 reconstruction and the anti-ISIS effort.

Senior Al-Hikma official Hassan Fadaam told Shafaq News that appointing special envoys for regional files is standard practice in international diplomacy to expedite communication outside formal embassy or State Department channels.

He explained that ambassadors often navigate multiple bureaucratic layers, which can hinder timely responses on urgent or sensitive matters, pointing out that countries like the US, Iraq, and Iran frequently assign envoys to handle specific issues directly. “Qassem Soleimani acted as Iran’s Supreme Leader’s representative in Iraq, handling high-level coordination directly, outside embassy channels.”

Stressing that Savaya’s appointment signals no shift in US–Iraq relations, Fadaam asserted, “Iraq will deal with him according to his mandate, just as it would with any other envoy.”

Earlier today, Iraq’s Coordination Framework (CF), the Shiite bloc leading the current government, affirmed that Savaya’s appointment is also a “normal step” to advance joint issues between both countries.

Read more: Mark Savaya: Who is Trump’s third Special Envoy to Iraq?