This photo, released by the official Syrian news agency SANA on Nov. 10, 2025, shows Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa (left) alongside U.S. President Donald Trump during their meeting at the White House in Washington, DC. (Credit: SANA/AFP)
Everything suggested that Ahmad al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House on Nov. 10 would mark a turning point. Three days before he met with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, the former jihadist-turned-president was taken off the U.S. terrorist blacklist.This victory followed the Washington-led removal of U.N. Security Council sanctions against him. Context Sharaa meets Trump for historic talks This measure now permits him to travel freely and is perceived as a prelude to Syria’s formal entry into the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS).A discreet welcomeLess than a year after taking office, Sharaa, the first Syrian president to be hosted at the White House since the country’s independence, met with Trump three times. Their first meeting, which happened during Trump’s Gulf tour in May in Riyadh, made a...
Everything suggested that Ahmad al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House on Nov. 10 would mark a turning point. Three days before he met with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, the former jihadist-turned-president was taken off the U.S. terrorist blacklist.This victory followed the Washington-led removal of U.N. Security Council sanctions against him. Context Sharaa meets Trump for historic talks This measure now permits him to travel freely and is perceived as a prelude to Syria’s formal entry into the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS).A discreet welcomeLess than a year after taking office, Sharaa, the first Syrian president to be hosted at the White House since the country’s independence, met with Trump three times. Their first meeting, which happened during Trump’s Gulf tour in May in Riyadh,...
