(Exclusive) Former US State Department official in charge of the Iraq file: Nechirvan Barzani enjoys rare US-Iranian trust
(Exclusive) Former US State Department official in charge of the Iraq file: Nechirvan Barzani enjoys rare US-Iranian trust
2026-08-18
Shafaq News – Washington
Thomas Warrick, the former official in charge of political affairs for Iraq at the US State Department, confirmed that the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, enjoys a “rare” level of trust with both Washington and Tehran, noting that very few figures in the region can claim to have this status with both sides.
Warwick told Shafaq News Agency in a special statement, commenting on the recent moves to reopen channels of negotiation between the United States and Iran, that other regional mediations have reached a dead end, while Washington trusts Nechirvan Barzani’s integrity and his deep knowledge of the actors and decision-makers on the Iranian side.
He added that Tehran likely views the President of the Kurdistan Region in the same way regarding his knowledge of Washington and its decision-making mechanisms, which gives him a position that is difficult to find with other mediators.
On August 16, Axios revealed details of a secret communication channel used by the administration of US President Donald Trump to reach the leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard directly. Nechirvan Barzani was chosen to play the role of mediator when Washington had doubts about the extent to which the Iranian negotiators represented the position of the Guard, whose influence in Iranian decision-making had grown during the war .
According to Axios, then-US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard contacted Barzani around May 10, with the approval of Trump and his deputy JD Vance, and asked him to open a direct channel with Revolutionary Guard commander Ahmad Vahidi to find out the Guard’s position on the negotiations that Iranian officials were conducting with Washington.
The American report indicated that Barzani’s selection was not accidental, as he has long-standing relationships with Iranian and American figures, speaks Persian, and previously studied in Tehran. A former American official who spoke to Axios described him as a pragmatic figure who is respected and knows decision-making circles in Tehran and Washington.
Regarding the chances of success for the role that the President of the Kurdistan Region can play compared to the efforts of Qatar and Pakistan, Warik told Shafaq News that “presenting a new vision is always beneficial, and this is what the President of the Region is already offering,” but he expressed pessimism about the possibility of ending the conflict in the near term, “I do not expect it to end before the midterm elections that will be held on November 3.”
Warrick previously served as Acting Director for Political Affairs in Iraq at the U.S. State Department, working on Iraq-related matters in Baghdad and Washington, before later becoming Deputy Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Counterterrorism. He is currently a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.
shafaq.com
