Shafaq News– Washington/ Baghdad

Mark Savaya, an Iraqi-American entrepreneur 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.

Contacted by Reuters after his account on X became unavailable on Thursday, Savaya, who had planned to visit Iraq last Friday to meet senior officials but abruptly canceled the trip, denied any change in his role, saying he was still completing administrative procedures required to officially assume the post.

Read more: US Envoy’s tough message collides with Iraq’s new political reality

On Friday, Amberin Zaman, chief correspondent for Al-Monitor, said she spoke directly with Savaya, noting that he dismissed reports of his removal and linked them to networks associated with “Iran-backed militias.”

Trump recently warned that Washington would withdraw support from Iraq if al-Maliki, put forward by Iraq’s largest parliamentary bloc, the Shiite Coordination Framework, returned as prime minister. Al-Maliki, however, reiterated his intention to run for prime minister in the next government despite US opposition, pointing out that the choice of head of government is a national issue subject to the will of the people and constitutional institutions.

Read more: Nouri Al-Maliki’s return rekindles Iraq’s divisions as Iran and the US pull apart