Syria’s President Ahmad Al-Sharaa is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, capping an almost unthinkable transformation for the former jihadist leader. This historic meeting—the first ever visit to the White House by a Syrian head of state—comes just one day after Al-Sharaa was photographed playing basketball with top U.S. military officials in Washington.
Less than a year after his swift and decisive power grab, 43-year-old Al-Sharaa is marking his emergence from jihadist insurgency to global statesman. The meeting with the U.S. commander-in-chief is the most high-profile and high-stakes encounter yet for a man who previously faced American forces on the battlefield in Iraq.
Since appointing himself as president of Syria in January, Al-Sharaa has embarked on his 20th foreign trip, marking a dramatic effort to reverse Syria’s decades of isolation. In May, following a meeting brokered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Trump hailed the Syrian leader as a “young, attractive guy” with a “very strong past.” Trump subsequently ordered the lifting of some crippling U.S. sanctions on Syria, a country long aligned with American adversaries, Russia and Iran.
Ex Al-Qaeda leader, now president of Syria, playing basketball with the commander of CENTCOM pic.twitter.com/ULFsq7NIuv
— Hawkeye Tx (@Hawkeye_Fire) November 9, 2025
Al-Sharaa’s immediate priorities in Washington include pushing for the full removal of the remaining stringent U.S. sanctions, which require congressional approval, and urging Trump to pressure Israel to halt attacks on Syria and withdraw troops from the south of the country.
His ultimate goal is to shatter the diplomatic isolation that left the country economically devastated and shackled to a narrow axis of allies.
The symbolic weight of the White House visit is profound. In his early twenties, Al-Sharaa was the enemy, joining Islamist insurgents battling American forces in Iraq. After being captured and later released, he crossed into Syria in 2011 to establish an Al-Qaeda-backed rebel army to fight forces loyal to then-President Bashar Al-Assad. After over a decade of brutal civil conflict, Al-Sharaa launched a surprise offensive that swiftly toppled the 53-year Assad dynasty, ending Syria’s long-stalemated civil war.
The former regime of the Assads was firmly aligned with Moscow, relying heavily on Russian aid, arms, and diplomatic backing—a relationship highlighted by the strategic Russian naval base in Tartus.
Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in 2015 was crucial to keeping Bashar al-Assad in power. Even after Assad’s fall, Russian forces retain control of their military base in Tartus. Al-Sharaa has been careful to maintain ties, including a visit to Moscow last month to meet Putin.
“Engaging in a conflict with Russia right now would be too costly with Syria, nor would it be in the country’s interest,” Al-Sharaa told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview in October, demonstrating his commitment to a balanced foreign policy.
Once sanctioned for terrorism by Western nations, the Syrian leader is now on a global diplomatic charm offensive, aggressively backed by U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey. These regional heavyweights are eager to fill a power and economic vacuum left by Iran and Russia.
For the U.S., engaging with Syria is a calculated risk. Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, observed that the U.S. has few alternatives, especially as neighboring Lebanon spirals into instability and Iraq remains heavily influenced by pro-Iranian militias.
Natasha Hall, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), summarized the new geopolitical approach: “In this new era, one doesn’t align completely with any side.”
This policy of balancing foreign policy away from conflict, even with figures like Putin (an active ally of the previous Assad regime), marks a significant strategic shift now followed by several developing nations worldwide.
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