President Donald Trump on Monday met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House, marking the first time a Syrian leader has ever visited the U.S. presidential residence.
In a departure from standard protocol, reporters and cameras were not allowed inside the meeting.
Al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda leader once listed as a U.S.-designated terrorist, had carried a $10 million bounty on his head until December 2024. He previously served time in Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison.
The visit follows al-Sharaa’s appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which analysts described as a key step in his transformation from jihadist to global statesman.
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Ahead of his arrival in Washington, the U.S. lifted sanctions and removed the global terrorist designations previously imposed on al-Sharaa and Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab.
Trump has spoken positively of the 43-year-old Syrian president, calling him a “young, attractive guy” with a “very strong past” after their brief meeting in May during the U.S. president’s Middle East tour. Soon after, Trump ordered the easing of some of the harsh U.S. sanctions on Syria.
Al-Sharaa took power in January as Syria’s transitional president after opposition forces launched a large-scale offensive against government troops, forcing former President Bashar al-Assad to flee to Russia.
