On September 24, 2025, history echoed through the halls of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York as Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, took to the podium. For the first time since 1967, a Syrian leader addressed the world’s foremost diplomatic stage, marking a dramatic return for a country battered by nearly fifteen years of civil war and decades of international isolation.
Al-Sharaa’s presence alone was a symbol of Syria’s seismic transformation. Just months earlier, he was better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the former head of the al-Nusra Front and a man once listed among the world’s most wanted, with a $10 million bounty on his head for orchestrating attacks across Syria. His journey—from insurgent leader and al-Qaeda commander to the presidential palace—has been nothing short of extraordinary, and his speech at the UN signaled a new chapter for both Syria and the wider Middle East.
According to Bloomberg, al-Sharaa’s appearance marked the first time a Syrian head of state had spoken at the UNGA in more than half a century. The last such moment came in 1967, when Noureddine Attasi addressed the assembly shortly after Syria’s defeat in the Arab-Israeli war. This time, the mood in Damascus was jubilant. Crowds gathered across the country, waving national flags and watching the speech live on public screens—a scene unimaginable only a year ago, when Bashar al-Assad’s iron-fisted rule still gripped the nation.
“Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world,” al-Sharaa declared, as reported by Al-Jazeera. He described the occasion as Syria’s return to the international community after decades of dictatorship—a period he said claimed one million lives and saw hundreds of thousands tortured. The fall of Assad’s 54-year family dynasty in December 2024, toppled in a lightning insurgent offensive led by al-Sharaa, has upended the region’s political landscape and left Syria at a crossroads.
Al-Sharaa’s speech was notable not just for its symbolism, but for its brevity—lasting only about eight minutes, one of the shortest at this year’s UNGA, according to The New York Times. Yet, in those few minutes, he laid out an ambitious vision for Syria’s future. “Syria has transformed from an exporter of crisis to an opportunity for peace for Syria and the region,” he said. He called for international support in rehabilitating the war-torn nation, emphasizing that Syria could help stabilize the Middle East if given a real chance to recover.
But the road ahead is fraught with challenges. Since assuming power, al-Sharaa has faced sectarian violence at home, with hundreds killed in clashes and his government accused of atrocities by groups affiliated with it. Addressing these concerns head-on, he promised, “I guarantee to bring to justice and hold everyone accountable who was responsible for the bloodshed.” He noted that fact-finding missions had been formed and that the UN had been allowed to investigate killings this year—signs, he argued, of a new era of accountability.
The president also took aim at Syria’s notorious Captagon trade, a multi-billion-dollar illicit industry that flourished under Assad. He claimed his government had destroyed large-scale factories that once generated nearly $10 billion annually and called on Western nations to lift sanctions imposed during the previous regime. “We call for lifting them completely so that they are not a tool to shackle the Syrian people,” al-Sharaa urged, echoing sentiments widely reported by AP and Bloomberg.
The international response has been mixed. US President Donald Trump, having met al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia, announced the lifting of decades-old sanctions, though the toughest restrictions under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 remain in place, pending a congressional vote. The US and other global actors are watching al-Sharaa closely, with one American official telling The Guardian, “He is jumping through the hoops to show that he can be a world leader, not just a fighter... So far, he is pulling it off.”
Al-Sharaa’s past, however, continues to cast a long shadow. The former rebel leader was imprisoned from 2006 to 2011 after being captured by US forces in Iraq, under the command of General David Petraeus. In a surreal moment during his New York visit, al-Sharaa sat down for a public interview with Petraeus, the very man who once oversaw his captivity. “It is good that at one time we were in combat, and now we are in dialogue,” al-Sharaa said, smiling at his former adversary. “Someone who went through war is one who knows best the importance of peace.”
After his release, al-Sharaa founded the al-Nusra Front in 2012 to fight Assad’s regime. The group severed ties with al-Qaeda in 2016 and later merged into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which he still leads. The US designated HTS a terrorist organization in 2018, but that label was revoked in July 2025 as Washington recalibrated its approach to post-Assad Syria.
Despite the new diplomatic tone, old enmities persist. In his UN speech, al-Sharaa accused Israel of continuing its military strikes against Syria, warning that such actions “contradict with the international community’s support to Syria and its people” and risk dragging the region into unpredictable conflict. Negotiations are underway for a possible security deal to revive the 1974 disengagement agreement, with both al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirming ongoing talks. Still, Netanyahu has downplayed expectations, stressing that Israel’s security, demilitarization of southern Syria, and the safety of Druze communities remain non-negotiable priorities.
Al-Sharaa reiterated Syria’s commitment to dialogue, even as he condemned Israeli strikes. “In the face of this aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue, and we’re committed to the Disengagement of Forces Agreement of 1974,” he stated, appealing to the international community for support. He also expressed solidarity with the residents of Gaza, saying, “The suffering Syria endured, we wish upon no one. For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Gaza.”
Reactions to al-Sharaa’s visit were polarized. Videos shared by Al-Arabiya showed Syrians and Americans alike cheering outside the UN and his hotel, celebrating what many saw as a new dawn for Syria. Yet, not everyone was convinced. Some protesters held placards linking him to ISIS and Osama Bin Laden, a reminder that for many, al-Sharaa’s past remains an open wound.
“Anyone watching a child being killed in the streets will revolt. The pressure led people to seek solutions within the scope of the means available to them,” al-Sharaa reflected, acknowledging the pain and anger that drove Syria’s long conflict. Now, as he seeks to guide his country out of the shadows of war, the world is watching—cautiously hopeful, but ever wary of the ghosts that still linger from Syria’s tumultuous past.
In a single, brief speech, Ahmed al-Sharaa managed to capture both the extraordinary promise and the daunting complexity of Syria’s new era. Whether his vision of peace and rehabilitation becomes reality will depend not just on his words, but on the actions that follow—in Damascus, in New York, and beyond.