US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack's may have his job terminated over his recent reaction to Israel's alleged strike on Syria, right-wing investigative journalist Laura Loomer claimed on X.
SCOOP:
Source tells me Ambassador Tom Barrack @USAMBTurkiye is on thin ice with the Trump administration and US State Department. There are internal discussions taking place about recalling him back to the US as some members of the admin believe he is responsible for the recent… https://t.co/LuiRlUBLtl
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 24, 2026
"Tom Barrack @USAMBTurkiye, the Ambassador to Turkey has been called back to Washington DC this week for 'consultations'. In State Department lingo, this is the term for having your [expletive] handed to you by your boss @SecRubio," she wrote on X. She did not explain whether this claim of removing him from his post is just her inference the circumstances based on sources that have confirmed this.
Ankara's silent inroads in Syria has been on Israel's radar for over a year, whether it's APCs given as a "gift" to Al-Sharaa or Turkey's aerial capabilities. The strike on Abu al-Duhur signals an end to its containment strategy.
The move to have him summoned to Washington comes amid allegations that his conduct contributed to escalating strain between Ankara and Jerusalem after the mysterious strike on a Turkish-linked Abu al-Duhur airbase in northern Syria earlier this month. Barrack had recently blamed Israel for the strike, saying it almost triggered a conflagration in Syria by creating an "unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability." Israel all but confirmed it was behind the strike, saying it had warned Syria not to disrupt the delicate equilibrium by using Turkey as a means of challenging Israel's superiority in the arena, blaming Turkey of trying to introduce its own military troops to the base.
"Israel and Syria agreed to a status quo in security matters, which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the incident. "Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel's security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings," he continued, vowing that "Israel will not tolerate threats to its security, and would welcome a return to the status quo."
SCOOP:
Tom Barrack @USAMBTurkiye, the Ambassador to Turkey has been called back to Washington DC this week for "consultations".
In State Department lingo, this is the term for having your ass handed to you by your boss @SecRubio.
This comes after Barrack sparked an… https://t.co/DJa9SC2n98
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 25, 2026
According to Loomer, frustration peaked over the weekend after Barrack claimed during a podcast appearance that Israeli governance over the Golan Heights was illegal – challenging the formal recognition decreed during the president's first administration – although Barrack later claimed that he was simply citing the various international law perspectives on the matter, not the official stance of the administration.
Loomer accused him of sparking "an international incident this weekend and almost started a regional war between Israel," although there is no basis to the claim that Israel or any of its adversaries were close to a hot confrontation. "A source at the State Department told me, 'we want him gone so badly we might hire packers to pack his belongings for him,'" she wrote.
She added that Barrack was "on thin ice with the Trump administration and US State Department" and that a source told her that "there is concern that Barrack doesn't understand or care to understand the President's foreign policy."
