In first-ever visit of Syrian president to White House, Trump praises al-Sharaa, suspends some sanctions

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has continued to see international diplomatic success as he projects a realignment with Western nations, hoping for a quieter Middle East. 

The latest sign of this is the historic meeting between al-Sharaa and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, just days after al-Sharaa was removed from a terrorism blacklist. 

While the U.S. government had delisted al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from a terror organization blacklist in July, al-Sharaa himself was only removed from a similar list on Friday. 

The Syrian president’s visit on Tuesday marked the first official visit of a Syrian head of state to the White House since the country declared independence in 1946. 

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In September, al-Sharaa became the first Syrian president to attend the UN General Assembly meeting in New York in 60 years. At the time, President Trump spoke of inviting al-Sharaa to the White House as well. The two had previously met in Saudi Arabia, where Trump announced plans to lift some sanctions on Syria, in an effort to help with rebuilding. 

After their meeting on Monday, President Trump announced the temporary suspension of sanctions for another six months. 

“We have to make Syria work. Syria is a big part of the Middle East,” Trump said regarding the announcement. "We want to see Syria become a country that's very successful. And I think this leader can do it, I really do.” 

The Syrian president came to Washington seeking not just prestige and recognition, but security assurances aimed at maintaining stability in the country that was wracked by a brutal civil war, which ended with the toppling of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024. 

As part of President Trump’s attempt to bring peace and prosperity to the Middle East, the U.S. has an interest in making sure the nation does not descend into sectarian violence or squabbles with neighbors. President Trump has been talking up a possible security cooperation between Syria and Israel, despite the two nations being historic enemies and having no official relations. 

While the U.S. has been pressuring Syria to move closer to some kind of agreement with Israel, including possibly joining the Abraham Accords, the interim Syrian president cut off any excitement for such a prospect, saying the country was not willing to enter into direct negotiations at the moment.

However, al-Sharaa held out hope that Washington could eventually help the countries reach an agreement. 

“We are not going to enter into a negotiation directly right now,” al-Sharaa told Fox News regarding the possibility of Syria joining the Abraham Accords. “Syria's situation is different from the situation of the countries that were in the Abraham Accords. Syria has a border with Israel, and Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967. Maybe the United States administration, with President Trump, will help us reach this kind of negotiation.” 

Following their meeting, President Trump reiterated his decision to help Syria as part of his greater Middle East vision, while also talking up the Syrian leader. 

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( Donald J. Trump - Nov 10, 2025, 7:33 PM ET )

It was an Honor to spend time with Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, the new President of Syria, where we discussed all the intricacies of PEACE in the Middle East, of which … https://t.co/PmcAZmhSwr

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“He comes from a very tough place, and he’s a tough guy. I like him,” Trump said of al-Sharaa. “We want to see Syria become a country that’s very successful. And I think this leader can do it. I really do. And people said he’s had a rough past. We’ve all had rough pasts.” 

“We’ll do everything we can to make Syria successful, because that’s part of the Middle East. We have peace now in the Middle East – the first time that anyone can remember that ever happening.” 

After al-Sharaa’s departure from the White House, U.S. officials said that Syria had committed to joining the global coalition against ISIS. The Syrian government has not made an official announcement of that fact. 

According to a Syrian readout of the meeting, Trump and al-Sharaa “addressed the bilateral relations between the Syrian Arab Republic and the United States, as well as ways to strengthen and develop them, in addition to a number of regional and international issues of common interest.”

The meeting was also attended by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine.

President Trump told reporters following the meeting that “You can expect some announcements on Syria.” 

He also hinted that some of those announcements could involve Israel, saying, “We’re working also with Israel on getting along with Syria, getting along with everybody, and that’s working amazingly.”