Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, marking a dramatic diplomatic shift for a man who was listed as a U.S.-designated terrorist just three days ago.
Al-Sharaa, once the leader of an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, renounced extremism after ousting Bashar al-Assad last year and taking control of the war-torn nation.
The meeting — their third face-to-face — could produce a formal counterterrorism agreement signaling U.S.-Syria cooperation against ISIS.
🇸🇾🇺🇸 FROM GUANTÁNAMO TO THE WHITE HOUSE: SYRIA’S REBEL PRESIDENT WALKS INTO HISTORY
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 10, 2025
20 years ago, Ahmed al-Sharaa was in a U.S. detention cell in Iraq, branded an al-Qaeda militant.
Today, he’s walking through the White House gates as Syria’s president - the first since 1946.… https://t.co/o9ERYuic94 pic.twitter.com/v7vZ0YYApA
The Trump administration removed Al-Sharaa from the terrorist list Friday and has begun rolling back sanctions imposed under Assad’s rule. The White House said sanctions remain on Assad, ISIS, and Iranian proxies.
Syria’s ex-jihadist president Ahmed al-Sharaa holds historic Trump talks https://t.co/A1ZvvgZaTG
— The Straits Times (@straits_times) November 10, 2025
Ahead of his Washington visit, Syria detained 70 alleged ISIS fighters, a move seen as goodwill toward normalization. Al-Sharaa is also expected to request U.S. support for Syria’s $900 billion reconstruction effort.
