Foreign pool report #1: Backgrounder Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara
- From
- Jihan Abdalla
- Sent
- Monday, November 10, 2025, 7:10 PM
Good morning,
My name is Jihan Abdalla, and I am your foreign pooler for the visit of Syrian President Ahmed Al Shara to the White House today, November 10, 2025.
This is the first official visit by a Syrian head of state to Washington since the nation gained its independence in 1946.
Schedule
Mr Al Shara will meet with President Donald Trump at 11:00 am local time. The arrival and the meeting are closed to press as of now. He is expected to have additional meetings with US officials later on Monday.
The Syrian leader arrived in Washington late on Saturday. On Sunday morning he met with representatives of Syrian American organizations. In the evening, he met with a delegation of the Syrian community.
He is joined by Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shaibani.
Purpose of visit
The visit is expected to include progress towards Syria’s formal entry to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, sanctions relief and a new cooperation with the US military.
Over the weekend, there were reports that Washington was seeking to establish a limited presence at an airbase near Damascus, intended to support counter-ISIS operations.
The visit also carries significant symbolic meaning, indicating a major policy shift in US-Syria relations, following years of international sanctions and isolation.
Context
The Trump administration began dismantling US sanctions on Syria in May, ahead of Mr Trump’s meeting with Mr Al Shara in Riyadh.
Mr Trump called Mr Al Shara a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”
In June, Mr Trump signed an executive order lifting most US sanctions on Syria paving the way for some reconstruction and foreign investment in the war-torn country.
“I think he’s doing a very good job. It’s a tough neighborhood, and he’s a tough guy, but I got along with him very well. We lifted sanctions to give them a real chance,” he said.
Despite these moves, however, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, often referred to as The Caesar Act, remains largely in place, with the possibility for short-term waivers.
The legislation passed in 2019, imposes targeted sanctions on the Syrian government, its allies, and entities supporting the Assad regime in response to human rights abuses.
Although the Assad regime is no longer in power, the sanctions can only be repealed through Congressional action and requires majority support in both the House and Senate. It would likely also involve negotiations over human rights, counterterrorism, and reconstruction guarantees.
Top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire has been leading the effort for a full repeal of the Caesar Act.
In July, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the revocation of the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation for the Syrian group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), also known as al-Nusrah Front, the al Qaeda affiliate group Al Shara founded.
Ahead of the visit, Syrian forces on Saturday conducted wide-scale raids in Damascus and in several other provinces, killing an ISIS member and arresting scores of others.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al Shaibani said the reconstruction of Syria would be a top issue during the visit.
In a recent report, the World Bank said that it would cost $216 billion to reconstruct Syria, and that figures was “a conservative best estimate.”
On Saturday, Mr Al Shaibani shared a video on social media showing Mr Al Shara playing basketball with Centcom commander Brad Cooper and Kevin Lambert, the head of the international anti-ISIS coalition.
The video had the caption: “Work hard, play harder.” He did not disclose the location.
Background
The visit is the culmination of a recent dramatic reshaping of Syria’s political landscape, that has included the rise to power of Mr Al Shara following the collapse of the regime of long-time leader Bashar Al Assad late last year.
Mr Al Shara has sought to gain international and regional legitimacy for his interim government, as well as make a push for reconstruction of the country, following 14 years of civil war through the lifting of sanctions on Syria. His government has also emphasized engagement with Western and Arab partners.
On November 1, Tom Barrack, the US special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, said that Mr Al Shara was expected to sign a document with Mr Trump during his visit, for Syria to join the US-led coalition against the Islamic State.
He called it “a big step” and “remarkable.”
White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday said the meeting on Monday was part of Mr Trump's effort to pursue peace in the Middle East. She did not confirm an announcement on joining the anti-ISIS coalition.
"When the President was in the Middle East, he made the historic decision to lift sanctions on Syria to give them a real chance at peace," she said.
"We've seen good progress on that front under their new leadership, and so he will be here at the White House on Monday."
On Friday, the State Department removed Mr Al Shara from its terrorist watchlist as well that of Syrian Defence Minister Anas Khattab.
A day prior, the UN Security Council voted in favor of removing Mr Al Shara from the world body’s sanctions list. Washington had for months been working on the resolution as part of its broader effort to ease restrictions on Syria.
In December, the US government removed the $10 million bounty on Mr al-Shara’s head.
Meanwhile, the US plan for military presence in Syria is reportedly aimed at monitoring a security deal that Washington is currently brokering between Israel and Syria.
Al Shara had previously stated that a security pact with Israel was a “necessity” and would be concluded soon.
Washington also wants to see the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the new Syrian army merged into one unit. The two sides have reached an agreement in principle in March. So far, implementation has stalled amid tensions and some clashes.
Recent meetings
Mr Trump met with Mr Al Shara in Saudi Arabia on May 14 on the side lines of a meeting of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It was the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years.
In September, Mr Al Shara traveled to New York and became the first Syrian president to address the United Nations General Assembly in 58 years.
Biography
Ahmed Hussein Al Shara, (also spelled Al Sharaa), has also been known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al Jolani. He was born on October 29, 1982.
He is a former rebel commander and the leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda before breaking ties in 2016.
He was detained in a US-run prison in Iraq for several years in the early 2000s.
He became Syria’s de facto consensus leader starting in December 2024, until his appointment as interim president on January 29, 2025.
He has said that presidential elections would take place in 4‑5 years.
He is married and has 3 children.
Jihan Abdalla
Senior US Correspondent
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