Trump’s embrace of Syria and its jihadist-turned-president could shake up the Middle East

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday had tea with a former jihadist who until recently had a $10 million US bounty on his head.
Interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, once known by his militant nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, met Trump in Riyadh six months after leading a swift campaign that toppled the half-a-century-old Assad regime, ejecting Iran-backed armed groups and declaring himself leader of the country.
Al Sharaa was placed on the US Specially Designated Global Terrorist list in 2013 for heading al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, known as Al Nusra Front, and allegedly orchestrating suicide bombings across Syria. The Saudi-born former jihadist had spent years fighting US forces in Iraq before moving to Syria to lead an armed Islamist rebellion that ousted the brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad.
The meeting, described by Syria as “historic,” was the first between a US and Syrian president in 25 years, taking place during Trump Middle East tour, the first set of state visits of his second term.
Both leaders were seen smiling in photos released by the White House and the Saudi foreign ministry. The Syrian foreign ministry said Trump committed to “standing by Syria at this critical juncture.”
A day earlier, Trump announced the removal of decades-old sanctions on Syria, a move that prompted a 40-second-long applause from the audience, including a standing ovation from the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“Oh, what I do for the Crown Prince,” Trump told the room on Tuesday, crediting the de facto Saudi leader for leading the effort to lift what the president called “brutal and crippling” sanctions. Syria has been designated by the US as a State Sponsor of Terrorism since December 1979.
Syria’s economy has been crippled for years by Western sanctions. Among the harshest is the US’ 2019 Caesar Act, which imposed wide-ranging sanctions that restricted individuals, companies or governments from economic activities assisting Assad’s war effort. The act rendered the entire economy untouchable. According to the World Bank, the country’s economy shrank by more than half between 2010 and 2020.
As of 2022, poverty was affecting 69% of Syria’s population, according to the World Bank. Extreme poverty affected more than one in four Syrians in 2022, the bank said, adding that this number likely deteriorated after a devastating earthquake in February 2023.
Gulf states have been keen to invest in Syria and prop up its economy but have been wary of violating US sanctions. Trump’s move is likely to remove such barriers, making way for potentially billions of dollars in investments.
During the meeting, Trump proposed that Sharaa take a series of measures, including normalization with Israel, expelling foreign and Palestinian “terrorists,” and helping the US to prevent the resurgence of ISIS, according to the White House.
Bringing Syria in from the cold gives a lifeline to the country’s fledgling regime and its president, who pledged in an interview with CNN last year that Syria’s armed opposition ultimately plans to form a government defined by institutions and a “council chosen by the people.” But it also presents an opportunity for Gulf Arab states and Turkey, which also pushed for sanctions to be lifted, to expand their influence in Syria and profit from it after decades of being left out of the country.
“The fact that he (Trump) did it so publicly and from Riyadh I think is a sort of tacit approval for those who are looking to invest in Syria potentially as well,” Natasha Hall of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said. “(It) means that he is giving wins to Mohammed bin Salman.”
Cautious optimism among Syrians
Fireworks lit up the skies in some of Syria’s biggest cities after Trump announced the lifting of sanctions. Billboards were erected thanking Trump and Prince Mohammed.
“I don’t know how life would be without sanctions,” said Ranim Sakhal, who said she has lived under sanctions since she was born in the 1970s. “The country has been suffocating.”
“People are optimistic and our dream is for Arab countries to help, which is something we haven’t seen for years because of Bashar’s rivalry with Arab leaders,” Sakhal added.
Syria’s currency, the Lira, rose by as much as 27% against the US dollar following the announcement. The country’s economy and trade minister, Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar, shed tears live on air with Saudi outlet Al Arabiya, as he underscored that Syria is “now entering a new phase.”