US Envoy ties 2026 vision to disarming factions in Iraq
Shafaq News– Washington/ Baghdad
US Envoy to Iraq Mark Savaya on Thursday outlined Washington’s priorities for 2026, pledging cooperation with Baghdad under Iraq’s constitution while calling for an end to corruption, uncontrolled weapons, and foreign interference.
In a New Year message posted on X, Savaya extended wishes of peace and unity to Iraqis and described 2026 as a year for improved stability and living conditions, reaffirming the US commitment to “secure a bright future for Iraq and its people.”
2026, Savaya added, should mark the end of instability, the plundering of public resources, weak public services, smuggling, unemployment, militias, money laundering, internal tensions, bogus contracts, poverty, embezzlement, inequality, circumvention of the law, and injustice.
“This message is directed to those who have spread corruption throughout the land of Iraq. Your time is over, and the time of Iraq and the Iraqi people has begun,” he wrote. “We are just getting started.”
Happy New Year 2026!And we are just getting started! pic.twitter.com/rE7ZeW7Z1H
— Mark Savaya (@Mark_Savaya) December 31, 2025
The remarks coincided with Iraq’s move into the next constitutional stage following the completion of its new parliamentary leadership. Parliament on Tuesday opened nominations for the post of president and set January 5, 2026, as the date for its next session.
Earlier, lawmakers elected Haibet Al-Halbousi of the Sunni Arab Taqaddum (Progress) Party as speaker, Adnan Fayhan of the Shiite Sadiqoun bloc—which represents Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, an Iran-aligned armed faction—as first deputy speaker, and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) lawmaker Farhad Atrushi as second deputy speaker.
Read more: Iraq Parliament finalizes speakership, heads toward presidential vote
Under Iraq’s constitution, parliament must elect a president within 30 days of its first session. The elected president is then required to designate a prime minister within 15 days, with the incoming cabinet to be formed within 30 days of that designation.
Since his appointment as President Donald Trump’s envoy to Iraq earlier in 2025, Savaya has made near-daily public remarks on sovereignty, political power, and the evolving landscape that emerged from Iraq’s 2025 parliamentary elections. He has repeatedly called for the full dismantling of all armed factions, stressing that any disarmament process must be irreversible, carried out under a clear and binding national framework, and exclude armed groups from participation in government.
Read more: US Envoy’s tough message collides with Iraq’s new political reality
