Iraqi sources told MBN that Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Iraq and Syria, helped arrange Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi’s visit to Damascus on Wednesday to discuss rehabilitating the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline.
A source close to Zaidi, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the matter, told MBN that Barrack had arranged and coordinated the visit and wanted to establish a strong relationship between Zaidi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The source added that the oil pipeline was at the center of the visit, with the aim of making Syria and Iraq partners in exploring alternative routes for exporting Iraqi oil.
Two senior figures in the Coordination Framework, the ruling Shiite coalition, confirmed to MBN that Barrack had played a “major role” in arranging relations between Iraq and Syria.
“Barrack wanted the two countries to have shared interests and for their relations not to remain strained because of past mistakes,” one of them said. “That is why he focused on the oil pipeline issue.”
Asked about Barrack’s role in arranging Zaidi’s visit to Damascus, a U.S. State Department spokesman told MBN that Washington was “pleased to see the Iraqi Prime Minister and Syrian President meet in Damascus.”
The United States welcomes dialogue between Iraq and Syria, the spokesman added, saying it “strengthens cooperation, supports regional security, and advances stability and prosperity for both countries.”
The spokesman did not address Barrack’s role in arranging the visit.
Sharaa received Zaidi at Damascus International Airport on Wednesday. The visit marked the first by an Iraqi prime minister to Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. Official statements from both sides said the two countries had discussed expanding security, economic and trade cooperation.
Following a meeting between Zaidi and Sharaa in New York in September, Barrack said the two countries were working on cooperation that would serve stability and shared prosperity.
Barrack then visited Damascus on Oct. 22 and met with Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. On the same day, Baghdad announced that Zaidi would visit the Syrian capital within days.
Zaidi’s visit comes as Baghdad, which had dealt cautiously with Sharaa’s administration during the first months of its rule, has increasingly emphasized its desire to strengthen bilateral ties. Iraq and Syria share a border stretching more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) and face common economic and security challenges.
Iraqi writer and political commentator Ali al-Baydar told MBN that the move “does not represent a traditional or conventional visit, or a passing diplomatic engagement.” Rather, he said, it was intended “to open a new chapter built around shared interests.”
In July, Iraq and Syria signed memorandums of understanding with a consortium made up of California-based investment firm T.I. Capital, Chevron and Qatar’s UCC Holding. The aim is to conduct technical and financial studies ahead of the proposed rehabilitation of the pipeline, which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
The pipeline dates back to 1952 but has been out of service since 2003, after sustaining damage following the entry of U.S. forces into Iraq. It is considered a vital outlet for exporting Iraqi oil through the Mediterranean Sea.
Oil expert Asim Jihad, a former spokesman for Iraq’s Oil Ministry, said the project was “an important strategic option for enhancing Iraq’s flexibility in transporting and exporting oil and reducing the risks of relying on a single route.” He said it should complement the southern export terminals, “which will remain the backbone of the country’s exports.”
But Jihad cautioned in an interview with MBN that it was “a future project that could take an estimated three to five years and require billions of dollars in investment, rather than a solution to a current crisis.”
Before the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in late February, Iraq produced about 4 million barrels of oil a day and exported an average of 105 million barrels a month, most of it from Basra in the country’s south, through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global energy supplies.
Iran’s disruption of the waterway, however, forced Iraq to halt production at most of its oil fields after storage tanks reached capacity. The country was left relying on limited exports through Syria by tanker trucks and through Turkey via a pipeline to the port of Ceyhan.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
