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President Donald Trump is preparing to host Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday in what officials describe as a historic step to test whether Damascus can be brought back into diplomacy after years of war and isolation.
The high-profile meeting opens a new chapter in US-Syrian relations after more than a decade of hostility. A senior administration official told Fox News Digital that the visit would focus on counterterrorism cooperation, economic development and promoting regional peace and security.
During the visit, the official said: “Syria will announce that it is joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Syria will become the 90th member of the D-ISIS coalition, partnering with the United States to eliminate the remnants of ISIS and put an end to the flow of foreign fighters.
This visit follows a week of major political changes. On Thursday, the UN Security Council voted 14-0, with China abstaining, in favor of lifting sanctions against al-Sharaa and Syria’s interior minister. Additionally, Reuters reported that al-Sharaa and its Interior Minister, Anas Khattab, had already been subject to financial sanctions targeting Al-Qaeda and ISIS, with the United States designating them as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
SYRIAN ACTING PRESIDENT AL-SHARAA EXPECTED TO MEET TRUMP DURING SYRIAN LEADER’S FIRST VISIT TO THE WHITE HOUSE
In this photo released by the Saudi Royal Palace, Acting Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa shakes hands with President Donald Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14. On the right, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (PA)
The meeting comes about six weeks after Al-Sharaa – the former commander of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, once affiliated with al-Qaeda – addressed the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, the first by a Syrian head of state in six decades. There, he urged the West to lift sanctions and called for international support to rebuild the country.
According to the administration official, this is about to happen: “Treasury, State and Commerce will jointly announce actions taken to lift economic restrictions and clarify compliance for investors. The United States will allow Syria to resume operations of its embassy in Washington to strengthen counterterrorism, security and economic coordination. »
Syrian officials are seeking to reassess the situation. Caesar Act Sanctionsthe main US law that still restricts commercial ties with Damascus.
The senior administration official told Fox News Digital: “The administration is suspending the Caesar Act for 180 days and urging Congress to permanently repeal the law to unlock economic growth.”
Syrian security forces walk together on a street, after clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed in the southern Druze town of Sweida early Wednesday, ending a ceasefire announced hours earlier that aimed to end days of deadly sectarian bloodshed, in Sweida, Syria, July 16, 2025. (Karam al-Masri/Reuters)
EVANGELICAL LEADER SAYS WE MUST PROTECT SYRIAN CHRISTIANS FROM ATTACKS BY DJIHADI TERRORISTS
Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., who visited Damascus this summer, told Fox News Digital he saw the visit as an opportunity to end years of bloodshed.
“This is Syria’s first chance to emerge from decades of brutal oppression and more than a decade of civil war,” the congressman said. “I went to Damascus to make sure missing Americans like Kayla Mueller are not forgotten, to advocate for expanding the Abraham Accords, and to remind Syria’s new leaders that they must include minorities like the Druze, Christians, and Kurds and protect their rights.”
About 100 influential Christian leaders sent a letter to President Trump on Friday calling on him to raise the issue of minority rights and protections with the Syrian leader. The letter was led by Dede Laugesen, president of Save the Persecuted Christians, and included Ralph Reed, Tony Perkins, Samuel Rodriguez, Rob McCoy and Alveda King.
Syrian citizens and security forces inspect the damage inside the Mar Elias Church where a suicide bomber blew himself up in Dweil’a, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (Omar Sanadiki/AP Photo)
In it, they thanked Trump for his efforts to protect Christians and also asked him to raise the issue with al-Sharaa. “We urge you to directly address the massacre of Christians, Kurds, Druze and Alawites in Syria, particularly in the greater Suwayda region. These religious minorities face continued violence, death, displacement, starvation and lack of water and medical care, while innocent women and children are held hostage by ISIS terrorists.
“Mr. President, we respectfully request that you secure a commitment from President al-Sharaa to open a secure humanitarian corridor from Hader to Suwayda in southern Syria. This corridor will enable safe and secure delivery of aid and evacuation of civilians, signaling the new government’s commitment to minority rights and stability,” the letter said.
NEW SYRIAN PRESIDENT TAKES CENTER STAGE AT UNGA AS CONCERNS REMAIN OVER TERRORIST PAST
Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 24, 2025, in New York. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Ahmad Sharawi of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Fox News Digital that Washington hopes to use the meeting to seek stability and contain Iran’s influence.
“The U.S. interest is to have a government willing to fight ISIS and prevent the re-emergence of Iran,” he said. “I think the United States will try to find a solution to the Kurdish question in northeast Syria and build a unified country without decentralization or federalism.”
He warned that Al-Sharaa’s national record shows “a political system that is not inclusive” and a pattern of centralization of power. Despite these concerns, he added, many Syrians view him as “the only figure capable of maintaining the unity of the country.”
People salute the leader of the Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led a lightning rebel offensive wresting Damascus from government control, Ahmed al-Sharaa (center), before his speech at the capital’s iconic Umayyad mosque, December 8, 2024. Al-Sharaa gave the speech as the crowd chanted “Allahu akbar (God is greatest)”, in a video shared by the rebels on their Telegram channel. showed. (Aref Tammawi /AFP via Getty Images)
In October, al-Sharaa traveled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin – a move that Sharawi said highlights both pragmatism and risk.
“You would think that 11 months ago, when the Russians were hitting Idlib and al-Sharaa’s forces, we wouldn’t see al-Sharaa meeting with Putin in Moscow,” Sharawi said. “But it is a clear indicator of how al-Sharaa operates: focused on protecting its interests, but also pragmatic.”
He added that the outreach signals to the West that “if you don’t give me what I want, I can rely on other countries,” and said it was an effort to gain weapons and political support after years of war and loss of equipment.
SYRIAN PRESIDENT’S HISTORIC SPEECH AT THE UN WAS JOINED BY THOUSANDS OF OUTDOOR RALLIES FOR PEACE AND SUPPORT OF TRUMP
Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, is seen in Syria on February 7, 2023. Since becoming president of the country, he has reverted to his first name. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)
“That’s why I questioned CENTCOM Gen. Michael Kurilla during the House Armed Services Committee hearings about these opportunities and risks – and wrote the NDAA section on assessing the feasibility of defense partnerships with the new Syrian government,” Hamadeh said. “We must ensure that ISIS and Iran never return and ensure that the Russians and Chinese stay at bay.”
Syrian-American activist Hicham Alnchawati of Syria Freedom Path told Fox News Digital that Syrians largely welcome the visit.
“They are looking for a better future,” he said. “They have suffered from the war: there is no water, no food, no economy and no security. He knows that his interest is that of the United States. He comes here to defend the mutual interests of the United States and Syria.”
Alnchawati argued that lasting stability would require eliminating the influence of Iran and Hezbollah.
“If you really want stability in the Middle East, you have to finish the job with Hezbollah and the Iranians,” he said. “They must be completely dismantled. Otherwise, they will reignite the conflict.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes hands with Acting Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters, Monday, September 22, 2025. (Bing Guan/Pool photo via AP)
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The UN and US sanctions decisions have sparked debate in Washington and Europe. Reuters and the Associated Press reported that some lawmakers and rights groups argue that legitimizing a former jihadist commander could weaken accountability for past abuses, while supporters say the aid offers Damascus an incentive to cooperate in fighting terrorism and drug control.
Sharawi told Fox News Digital that the subjugation policy on al-Sharaa “gives Damascus a powerful incentive but leaves Washington exposed.” The political cost of failure would be enormous.”
