On September 24, 2025, the United Nations General Assembly in New York became the stage for a day of remarkable firsts, bold declarations, and historic reckonings. The 80th session’s General Debate drew leaders from around the world, but it was the speech by Syria’s new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, that electrified audiences both inside the hall and across his embattled homeland. For the first time in nearly 60 years, a Syrian president addressed the UN, signaling a seismic shift not just for Syria, but for the entire Middle East.
As the world watched, hundreds gathered in Syrian cities, waving flags and crowding around giant screens to witness a moment they hoped would mark the end of decades of isolation and repression. According to the Associated Press, “Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world,” declared Ahmad al-Sharaa, the first Syrian head of state to speak at the UN since Noureddine Attasi in 1967, shortly after the Arab-Israeli war that saw Syria lose the Golan Heights to Israel.
Al-Sharaa’s rise to power has been nothing short of dramatic. The Assad family, which seized power in 1970, ruled Syria with an iron grip for 54 years. That dynasty collapsed abruptly in December 2024 when Bashar Assad was toppled by a lightning insurgent offensive led by al-Sharaa. The end of the Assad era brought hope for change, but also fresh challenges as Syria’s long civil war entered a new and uncertain phase.
Addressing the General Assembly, al-Sharaa wasted no time in criticizing Israel’s ongoing threats and policies. He accused Israel of endangering the region and ignoring the international community’s support for Syria. “Its policies contradict with the international community’s support to Syria and its people,” al-Sharaa asserted, as reported by the AP. He revealed that negotiations were ongoing for a security deal aimed at the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a return to the 1974 disengagement agreement.
But optimism was in short supply from Israel’s side. On September 21, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed the odds of a breakthrough, and his office later clarified that any agreement would have to guarantee Israel’s interests—specifically, the demilitarization of southwestern Syria and the safety of the Druze religious minority. The negotiations, Netanyahu’s office stated, “involve ensuring Israel’s interests, which include, among other things, the demilitarization of southwestern Syria and maintaining the safety and security” of the Druze.
Al-Sharaa, for his part, has been keen to project an image of inclusivity and reconciliation, especially toward Syria’s many minority communities. Yet, the early months of his rule have been marred by outbreaks of sectarian violence, with hundreds killed and credible accusations of atrocities against the Druze and Alawite minorities in southern Syria’s Sweida province and the coastal region. In his speech, al-Sharaa acknowledged these horrors, stating, “I promise to bring anyone whose hands are tainted with the blood of Syrian people to justice.” He emphasized that the Syrian state had formed fact-finding missions and granted the UN the right to investigate the killings—an unprecedented move in the country’s recent history.
One of the most tangible changes since Assad’s ouster has been the government’s crackdown on the illegal drug trade. The previous regime, crippled by Western sanctions and war, had turned to industrial-scale production of Captagon, an amphetamine-like stimulant that fueled a $10 billion annual global trade. Al-Sharaa announced that Syria’s new authorities had destroyed Captagon factories in various regions, signaling a commitment to ending the illicit business that once propped up the Assad government.
Still, the shadow of international sanctions looms large over Syria’s fragile recovery. In May 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia and announced the lifting or waiving of a significant portion of U.S. sanctions. However, the most stringent measures—imposed by Congress in 2019—remain locked in place, requiring legislative action to be permanently removed. Speaking to reporters outside the UN, al-Sharaa expressed hope that these remaining sanctions would eventually be lifted, saying, “Syria does not wish the pain it passed through for anyone” and expressing solidarity with the Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
The day’s significance was not lost on ordinary Syrians or the global diaspora. In Damascus, crowds filled Umayyad Square, celebrating al-Sharaa’s speech as a new beginning. But in New York, the Syrian community was split. At Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, dueling demonstrations unfolded: one group, waving the three-starred “revolution flag” that now serves as Syria’s official banner, cheered the new government; the other, many holding the five-color Druze flag, voiced bitter opposition. Farah Taki, whose family was displaced by recent violence, traveled from Chicago to protest al-Sharaa’s appearance, telling the AP, “It’s disgrace that New York is welcoming an ex-Qaida member at the UN, and allowing him even to speak.” Al-Sharaa’s insurgent group was once affiliated with al-Qaida but later severed ties. On the other side, Dina Keenawari, a Syrian American from Florida, expressed hope: “We’ve lived under tyranny for the past 50 years, and now we’re turning a new chapter, and we’re looking forward. And we’re proud of him.”
Al-Sharaa’s speech was just one highlight in a day packed with high-level addresses. According to Xinhua, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Kenyan President William Ruto, Swiss Confederation President Karin Keller-Sutter, Spanish King Felipe VI, and Dominican President Luis Abinader all took the podium during the General Debate. Each leader brought their own nation’s concerns and aspirations to the global stage, underscoring the UN’s enduring role as a forum for dialogue, disagreement, and—sometimes—diplomatic progress.
The world’s attention, however, remained fixed on Syria, a nation that has known little peace in the past half-century. Whether al-Sharaa’s promises of justice, coexistence, and reform will translate into lasting change remains to be seen. But for one day at least, Syria’s voice was heard at the United Nations—and the world was listening.
