Barak: Region fears US will leave it facing Iran, the wounded lion

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barak told CNN that Middle Eastern countries believe the United States will eventually return home, leaving the region to confront an exhausted but dangerous Iran. He said Washington is “very close” to reaching a truce.

US Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barak said Middle Eastern countries expect the United States to withdraw from the region sooner or later, leaving them alone to confront Iran, which has been weakened by war but remains dangerous.

In an interview with CNN journalist Becky Anderson during the “Global Perspectives” event in Doha on October 29, Barak said: “Look, the region says: America, you will eventually go back home. We know you will go back, and we will remain with this wounded lion.”

A truce soon, but no comprehensive settlement

Barak said a comprehensive settlement with Tehran was unlikely in the near term, but expressed confidence that a temporary ceasefire could be reached. “I think we are very close to finally reaching a point where we say: Let’s take a break,” he said. He added: “We will not reach a comprehensive solution immediately, but we can allow the region to find its own rhythm.”

He suggested that tensions could ease within two weeks, noting that Qatar had proposed a seven-day truce to Iran and that the proposal was still under consideration, without announcing whether Tehran had accepted it.

Qatari mediation and Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani efforts

Barak praised the mediators’ efforts, saying: “Qatar, Pakistan and all our allies have done a good job.” He added that “Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye are heading to Iran to try to reduce tensions.” He said the region’s governments were capable of managing their relations with Iran and the security of the Gulf’s waterways, stressing that “the United States cannot solve everything.”

On the difficulty of communicating with Tehran during the war, he said: “The more we remove our interlocutors inside Iran, the more difficult communication becomes.” Regarding Israel, he said: “The path is not Greater Israel, and I think that is an illusion.”

Barak made the remarks as a letter from US Vice President JD Vance to Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, offering direct talks in Istanbul or Doha, brought the diplomatic track back into focus ahead of the US midterm elections.

Barak: Region fears US will leave it facing Iran, the wounded lion