ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US envoy to Iraq Tom Barrack on Monday arrived in Baghdad where he is set to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and hold meetings with Kurdish officials in Erbil the following day.

“Happy and honored to be back in Baghdad, meeting with our great US Embassy team led by Charge d’Affaires Joshua Harris,” Barrack wrote on X.

“Today I will meet with Prime Minister Al-Zaidi to convey President [Donald] Trump’s support for his government, and discuss our partnership on a new direction for a strong and mutually beneficial US-Iraq relationship,” he added.

In late May, Barrack was appointed as Special Presidential Envoy to Iraq by Trump, alongside renewing his role as Special Presidential Envoy to Syria and retaining his post as US ambassador to Turkey, days after his previous Syria envoy mandate expired.

The US envoy is set to hold meetings in Baghdad on Monday and Erbil on Tuesday, al-Monitor reported earlier this week, citing several officials familiar with the matter.

According to al-Monitor’s sources, Barrack is likely to further press the new Iraqi government to disarm and dismantle Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq, amid a push by Zaidi’s government already to that end.

Several pro-Iran factions within Iraq have already announced their decisions to sever their ties with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in a bid to restrict weapons to the Iraqi state, with the most salient among them being Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib al-Imam Ali.

The groups’ announcements came days after influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said his armed faction would integrate with the state.

Pro-Iran Iraqi groups have been responsible for a sizable amount of the attacks launched at US interests across the region during the war with Iran.

Following Zaidi’s appointment as Iraqi prime minister, Trump congratulated him over a phone call, expressing his anticipation for a "highly productive" new bilateral relationship and extending an invitation for him to visit Washington following the formation of a government.

During a speech in May, Trump said he “congratulate[s] the new president of Iraq. I endorsed him,” erroneously referring to the premier as “president.”

On the second leg of his trip in Erbil, the American diplomat is set to meet with President Masoud Barzani, and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, among other Kurdish leaders.