From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 23, 2026
US envoy: There ‘absolutely’ could be a US strike on Iran ‘this weekend’
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US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack says there “absolutely” could be a US strike on Iran as early as this weekend.
“Could there be a strike this weekend? Absolutely,” Barrack — who also serves as the US special envoy to Syria and Iraq — says in an interview with the online commentator Mario Nawfal.
“The president is very clear. He’s open and available and accessible to a deal. And we’ve been at the table for months and months and months,” Barrack adds, saying that “the nuclear proliferation and where we go with the enrichment and all those things are, are details, the punctuation in the chapter that needs to be finished.”
Barrack says the US is “in a bargain for unfreezing assets, releasing sanctions, no more kinetic engagement, supplying the needed help to Israel, our ally.”
???????????????? BREAKING: AMB. TOM BARRACK WARNS U.S. STRIKE COULD HAPPEN THIS WEEKEND
I asked Trump's Special Envoy, Tom Barrack: “Could there be a strike on this this weekend?
His answer was direct: "Absolutely.”
Amb. Barrack laid out exactly where things stand with Iran right now.… pic.twitter.com/upe7UlgGvb
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 23, 2026
The US envoy also echoes similar comments made in recent months by US President Donald Trump, suggesting that the US seeks to make a diplomatic deal, “but if we don’t, and if you keep threatening the world, our allies, the Gulf, there will be a consequence.”
“The consequence won’t be regime change,” Barrack adds. “The United States, the president of the United States has said he’s not interested in regime change. He’s interested in rebalancing so that there’s no hostages, there’s no threats, and the world can calm down and ensure what’s there. The problem with regime change always is — what’s the day two scenario?”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that he stressed to Trump in a recent call the need to bring down the Iranian regime.
Barrack is known to regularly pontificate about Middle East developments in public—a rarity for a sitting US official —but it is often unclear whether his comments represent administration policy or just his personal thoughts.
The Times of Israel Community.