DOHA — The United States is moving away from its traditional security-for-oil relationship with the Middle East and no longer seeks to dominate the region, senior U.S. diplomat Tom Barrack has said.
Barrack, who serves as U.S. Ambassador to Turkiye and Special Envoy for Syria, was speaking at the Global Security Forum in Doha on Tuesday. He said the United States was not abandoning the Middle East, but rather reassessing its role after years of attempts to reshape governments across the region.
"The U.S. no longer wants to own," Barrack said. "The bargain is not to control, but to not leave. We're not leaving."
Barrack questioned the effectiveness of previous interventions, saying the U.S. had been involved in "23 regime changes" across the wider Middle East. He highlighted the limits of U.S. interventions, admitting past regime changes in the region were often mistakes.
His comments come as Washington and Tehran try to negotiate an end to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran that has destabilised the region and disrupted global energy supplies. Qatar says negotiations between Tehran and Washington are continuing despite growing fears of renewed fighting.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari, speaking separately at the Global Security Forum, said mediators were continuing to exchange messages between the warring parties, with regional partners involved in efforts to reach a deal. The diplomatic efforts come as Iran's seven-day proposal to end the war remains on the table, with the U.S. yet to give its response. The plan envisages reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear negotiations in exchange for U.S. concessions, including lifting the naval blockade on Iranian ports and easing economic sanctions on Tehran.
