{
  "id": 13100634,
  "title": "Trump envoy kept financial ties to firm behind $15 billion Hormuz-bypass oil pipeline plan",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/trump-envoy-kept-financial-ties-to-firm-behind-15-billion-hormuz-13100634",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T11:28:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-911168"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Thomas Barrack, the US envoy for Iraq and Syria, pushed for his business partner's firm, TI Capital, to participate in an oil pipeline project bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, despite potential ethical concerns. The Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline, a Syrian-Iraqi venture, has been dormant since the early 1980s. Barrack, who is also the US Ambassador to Turkey, had a financial interest in a real-estate project managed by TI Capital, with founder Ziad Ghandour as CEO. In June, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced the agreement between Iraq, Syria, and the consortium, which included Chevron and Qatar's UCC Holding, to study technical and financial aspects of the pipeline. Barrack's ties to Ghandour, coupled with his role in the project, raised ethical questions, as ethics lawyers and former White House officials argued that his advocacy appeared to conflict with impartiality regulations.",
  "summary": "Barrack, US presidential special envoy to both Iraq and Syria as well as Ambassador to Turkey, has a longstanding business relationship with TI Capital and its founder Ziad Ghandour.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Investing.com",
        "title": "Trump envoy kept financial ties to firm behind $15 billion Hormuz-bypass oil pipeline plan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/trump-envoy-kept-financial-ties-to-firm-behind-15-billion-hormuz",
        "published": "2026-10-09T10:24:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al-Monitor",
        "title": "Trump envoy kept financial ties to firm behind $15 billion Hormuz-bypass oil pipeline plan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/trump-envoy-kept-financial-ties-to-firm-behind-15-billion-hormuz-13094591",
        "published": "2026-10-09T10:46:31.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Business Recorder",
        "title": "Trump envoy kept financial ties to firm behind $15 billion Hormuz-bypass oil pipeline plan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/trump-envoy-kept-financial-ties-to-firm-behind-15-billion-hormuz-13096148",
        "published": "2026-10-09T10:59:37.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}