Barrack Says US Is 'No Longer the Master of the World,' Calls Yemen Ground Intervention Pointless

Tom Barrack, President Trump's ambassador to Türkiye and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, laid out a notably restrained U.S. posture for the Middle East on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the Global Security Forum in Doha.

"The US is no longer the master of the world," Barrack said, citing past American involvement in Libya, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

He did not announce a pullout. "The bargain is not to control, but to not leave. We're not leaving," he said. He added that regional governments increasingly say, "OK, I can't rely on America to solve all my problems."

The forum, the eighth edition, runs Oct. 19 to 21 under the theme "The Future of Alliances."

Yemen: logistics yes, ground troops no

Barrack said Trump supports Saudi Arabia logistically as fighting between the kingdom and Yemen's Houthis intensifies. A U.S. ground intervention, he said, "appears pointless."

He argued negotiations involving Saudi Arabia, the Houthis and regional mediators offer a better path. The Saudi-led coalition is currently carrying out airstrikes on Houthi positions, while the Houthis are firing missiles and drones at the kingdom.

Barrack also pressed Middle Eastern states to build regional alliances rather than wait on Washington. He openly questioned what the Mecca defense pact means for Turkish forces.

Iran: a deal, not regime change

Barrack said the administration wants a peaceful agreement with Iran and that Trump remains willing to negotiate. He pointed to mediation by Qatar, Oman, Pakistan and Switzerland.

The main obstacle, in his telling, is a lack of trust between Washington and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He suggested a modified version of the Islamabad understanding could restart talks. It would cover a ceasefire, the reopening of maritime routes and steps to ease economic pressure on ordinary Iranians.

Iran's political future, Barrack said, should be decided by Iranians, not imposed from outside.

He was blunt about the record. "Every time we try and intervene, change the person or the regime, it seems to have been a mistake," he said. He put the number of U.S. regime changes across the broader Middle East at 23 and said none produced the intended result.

Asked whether the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran was a mistake, Barrack answered: "I don't know whether it's a mistake or not." He called the situation the conflict has produced terrible.

Al Jazeera reported that Barrack also said Trump did not follow Israel into the war, which it described as contradicting earlier comments by Trump's Secretary of State.

Political analyst Luciano Zaccara told Al Jazeera that Barrack is probably "the most realistic of Trump's allies." Zaccara said Barrack's reference to failed regime changes acknowledged that the U.S. approach had not worked under any administration.

Pushback on talks with Tehran

Not everyone in the Trump orbit shares the appetite for a deal. Attendees at the AUSA Exposition, the Army's annual conference, questioned Trump's optimism about an Iran agreement, according to Fox News. They argued military pressure and economic sanctions must intensify before any talks with Tehran.

That is the opposite sequence from the one Barrack described in Doha. He put a ceasefire and easing of economic pressure at the front of a possible framework.

US and Iranian diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement have so far been unsuccessful.

Israel, Syria and Türkiye

Barrack also addressed the risk of a clash between Israel and Türkiye. "My belief is Israel is way too smart to actually pick a real fight with Türkiye," he said. "I don't think Israel wants that, I know Türkiye does not want that."

He still called an Aug. 18 Israeli operation near the Turkish border dangerous. Israeli aircraft carried out eight airstrikes that day on the runway of Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria's Idlib countryside. The strikes caused material damage but no casualties.

Israel justified the attack as aimed at preventing a Turkish military buildup. Türkiye's Ministry of National Defense said no Turkish military delegation was at the base before or during the strike.

"Türkiye was not informed of Israeli jets coming. We were not informed of Israeli jets coming. Türkiye could have, very quickly, sent its jets, and all of a sudden we're in another situation," Barrack said. On Israeli operations in Syria generally, he said: "It's time to stop it."

Barrack's remarks are the clearest public signal yet from a senior Trump envoy: no ground war in Yemen, no U.S. push for regime change in Tehran, and a modified Islamabad framework as the starting point for talks. The administration has not formally adopted that framework.

It is unclear whether Iran and the IRGC will engage on those terms while the Houthi-Saudi fighting escalates. The forum runs through Wednesday, Oct. 21.