BAGHDAD (Dispatches) -- In an unusual June 23 operation, FBI agents deployed to Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone to question former Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani over allegations that his administration funneled money to former U.S. envoy Mark Savaya, according to sources familiar with the matter, cited by the Cradle.
Two AH-64 Apache helicopters landed at Washington Landing Zone near the U.S. embassy compound as the FBI team arrived. The investigators traveled in armored diplomatic vehicles to the Government Palace for a roughly hour-long meeting before returning to the embassy, they said. 
The questioning centered on Savaya, a Trump ally with no diplomatic experience who was named special envoy to Iraq in October 2025 but left the role by January 2026. Savaya never formally became a State Department employee and made no official visit to Iraq during his brief tenure.
U.S. sources claim Savaya received funds from Sudani and struck arrangements with as many as 30 Iraqi officials. One alleged objective was to prompt Trump to publicly oppose the return of former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose candidacy Washington openly opposed.
Investigators reportedly focused on how the money was transferred, which senior Iraqi figures were involved, and what each expected in return.
The inquiry also explored an alleged plot to pressure Washington to impose sanctions on Iraq’s chief judge, Faiq Zaidan. However, U.S. Ambassador to Turkiye Tom Barrack, who subsequently assumed responsibility for the Iraq portfolio, reportedly informed Zaidan of the scheme and identified an Iraqi party behind the effort.
Savaya’s removal did little to reduce Washington’s influence in Baghdad. Instead, the Iraq file passed to Barrack, a more powerful envoy with direct White House access and a widening role across West Asia.
The developments set the stage for Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi’s July visit to Washington, where Trump gave him a warm White House reception. The U.S. president made Washington’s role in Zaidi’s rise unusually explicit, stating, “I played a role” in ensuring another candidate took office, adding, “I fought for that.”
Trump predicted Zaidi would become “a great leader in the Middle East, beyond Iraq.”
The visit yielded agreements worth approximately $200 billion in the energy sector alone, with U.S. firms securing expanded roles in Iraqi production and export routes.
However, Washington’s economic cooperation carries clear political conditions: Baghdad must advance “reforms” including tighter control over resistance factions, greater distance from Tehran, and stronger alignment with U.S. priorities.
For Zaidi’s government, the Savaya affair underscores that U.S. endorsement comes at a political price. Washington now treats corruption not solely as a judicial matter, but as an instrument to measure obedience, identify acceptable partners, and maintain control over Iraq’s political direction.