Syria will join the international coalition to fight the Islamic State group, marking a shift in US foreign policy in the Middle East, a senior Trump administration official confirmed.
The announcement came as President Donald Trump met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House – the first such visit by a Syrian leader in the country's history.
In an interview with a Fox News special report, al-Sharaa said the visit is part of a “new era” in which the country will cooperate with the United States.
Trump expressed support for al-Sharaa, who until recently was considered a terrorist by the US government.
Syria will now become the 90th country to join a global coalition aimed at eliminating remaining elements of the so-called Islamic State and stopping the flow of foreign fighters into the Middle East.
After the meeting, a senior administration official also confirmed that the US Treasury Department, along with the State and Commerce Departments, will announce new measures to lift economic restrictions on Syria and provide “compliance clarity for investors.”
As part of the measures, the administration is also suspending for 180 days the Caesar Act, which imposed sanctions on the former Syrian government since 2019.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office hours after the meeting, Trump said “we want Syria to be a very successful country.”
“And I think this leader can do it,” he added. “I really think so.”
Diplomatic relations between Syria and the US have been suspended since 2012, although the US will now allow Syria to reopen its embassy in Washington.
This is the third meeting between the two leaders, following a meeting in May on the sidelines of the Gulf Cooperation Council and a dinner during the UN General Assembly in September.
Al-Sharaa's visit to the White House completes a remarkable rebranding of the former jihadist.
He most recently headed an affiliate of al-Qaeda, the group behind the 9/11 attacks and many others, before cutting ties.
Even before this year, he was the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an armed Islamist group that the United States officially designated as a terrorist organization until four months ago and had a $10 million bounty on his head.
Just last week, the Treasury Department removed al-Sharaa from its “specially designated global terrorist list.”
But since al-Sharaa became Syria's interim president, he has sought to soften his public image as he tries to rebuild Syria with foreign support after 13 years of war.
“He had a difficult past,” Trump said Monday. “And I think, frankly, if you didn’t have a difficult past, you wouldn’t have had a chance.”
In the interview, al-Sharaa said he and Trump did not discuss its past, but instead focused on the “present and future” of Syria, in which it has been a “geopolitical” and economic partner of Washington.
However, al-Sharaa's rule was marred by killings of members of Syria's Alawite minority, as well as deadly violence between Sunni Bedouin militants and Druze militias.
He has vowed to root out members of his security forces who have committed human rights abuses.
Trump, for his part, has repeatedly expressed support for Al-Sharaa, calling him a “young, attractive guy” and a “fighter.”
In June, President Trump signed an executive order lifting sanctions against Syria, which the White House said would help support the country's “path toward stability and peace.”
At the time, the administration said it would monitor the actions of the new Syrian government, including “taking steps to normalize relations with Israel” and combating “foreign terrorists” and militant groups operating in the country.
