Following historic sanctions relief, Trump pushes Syria’s leader to normalize with Israel

On his state visit to Riyadh, President Donald Trump became the first US president in 25 years to meet with a Syrian leader, interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, and stunned the world by announcing the lifting of crippling sanctions on Syria.

Once a US-listed jihadist, Sharaa has now emerged as the face of post-Assad Syria. Trump called on Sharaa to normalize ties with Israel through the Abraham Accords, deport Palestinian militants from Syria, and take control of ISIS detainee camps currently run by Kurdish forces.

While Damascus celebrated, its remains unclear if Trump would remove Syria from the US state-sponsors-of-terrorism list.