“Tidbits From TNT” Tuesday 1-20-2026

TNT:

Tishwash:  Shocking photos reveal Saddam Hussein with Trump and Savaya during their meeting! What's going on and what's being planned for Iraq?

Mark Savaya, the special envoy to Iraq, posted a picture of himself with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (January 20, 2026), which sparked widespread interaction on social media, due to a striking detail that appeared in front of Trump during the meeting.

The image showed an Iraqi coin bearing the image of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein placed on the table in front of Trump, in a scene described by observers as unusual and carrying symbolic connotations.   

Savaya did not comment on the reason for the coin's presence or its background, simply stating, "It was a wonderful day." This opened the door to interpretation and questions about whether the image was intentional or accidental, especially given the sensitivity surrounding symbols associated with Iraq and its political history in the American context.   link

Tishwash: Saddam Hussein is "present" on Trump and Savaya's table... Coded messages reshape the contours of the American role in Iraq

another version

A photo posted by the US Special Envoy to Iraq, Mark Savaya, has sparked a storm of political speculation about the nature of the next phase in the relationship between Washington and Baghdad, after he appeared in a meeting with President Donald Trump accompanied by an old Iraqi banknote bearing the image of former President Saddam Hussein .

 Although the date the photo was taken could not be definitively verified, the timing of its publication and its content clearly indicate that it reflects the recent trends of the US administration towards the Iraqi issue. 

Savaya commented on the photo, describing the meeting as "a great day with a great man," in a statement that observers considered an official declaration of the beginning of an era of "shock diplomacy" which he is leading with a direct presidential mandate that goes beyond traditional diplomatic frameworks.

Political analysts believe that the presence of the “five dinar” denomination, which has been abolished for decades, on the table of discussion between the president and his special envoy cannot be considered a mere coincidence. Rather, it is a coded visual message directed to the Iraqi interior and regional powers, symbolizing Washington’s desire to see a “strong central state” capable of controlling weapons and securing the borders, in an explicit exposure of the current state of security fragmentation and the dominance of armed factions. 

This move reinforces the influence of Savaya, who was appointed in October 2025 with a primary mission focused on undermining the influence of pro-Iranian armed groups and drying up their sources of funding, while simultaneously working to open up major investment opportunities for American companies in the energy and infrastructure sectors, which puts Baghdad before a real test of balancing its international relations.

It is expected that Savaya will adopt a similar approach to what Tom Brack did in recent regional files, where this method is based on “stirring up stagnant waters” through major deals conditional on comprehensive political and security stability, especially what happened in Syria.

While Savaya’s mission is described as extremely complex due to the deep-rooted opposition to Washington in Iraqi decision-making centers, his direct line of communication with the White House gives him the ability to exert unprecedented maximum pressure. 

This public appearance, with symbols from Iraq’s past, confirms that the US administration is prepared to cross all traditional red lines and political sensitivities in order to redraw the balances in the region and impose a new reality that ends the state of stagnation that has characterized US foreign policy in Iraq for many years.

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Tishwash:  Six measures to protect gold and regulate its market: Mazhar Saleh explains Iraq's vision for national wealth.

 The Prime Minister’s financial advisor, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, outlined six key measures on Monday to regulate the gold market, noting that the Gold City project is a strategic initiative to protect one of the nation’s greatest assets.

Saleh said in a press statement: “The global rise in gold prices has not led to a decline in demand for it in the local market, but rather has contributed to changing its function from an ‘ornamental commodity’ to a ‘savings tool and protection of value,’ stressing the ‘need to adopt a unified national mark and the obligation of modern technical examination to protect household savings.’”

He added that "this functional transformation of the yellow metal makes quality control and government oversight an urgent economic and social necessity, as it protects families' wealth and enhances confidence in the market," indicating that "quick and low-cost procedures, such as the unified national marking and rapid technical inspection, represent sufficient means to restore discipline and reduce manipulation."

Saleh pointed out that “gold remains a symbol of family security and savings for generations in the Iraqi social memory, and with rising prices, it has become part of the tools of unofficial monetary policy, as it is a store of value parallel to the dinar,” noting that “regulating the market is not a formal procedure, but rather a basic condition for building confidence and protecting national wealth.”

Saleh called for "a comprehensive reform of the gold market system, through the adoption of a unified and mandatory Iraqi mark that includes (carat, testing authority, and year of mark), while criminalizing the trading of unmarked gold," stressing "the importance of strengthening oversight through field testing using modern technologies such as (XRF), which reveals the truth about gold immediately without causing any damage to the pieces."

The financial advisor added that "the next stage requires regulating gold smelting and import operations through workshop licensing and tightening border inspection, as well as establishing a national register for gold traders and adopting unified official invoices to reduce undocumented trading," noting that "empowering the consumer through awareness campaigns and effective reporting mechanisms represents a fundamental pillar in this system."

Saleh concluded his remarks by saying: “The institutional completion of the ‘City of Gold’ project has become an urgent necessity, as it represents the official incubator for protecting this great national wealth and providing the highest standards of legal and professional protection for it.” link

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