For the first time in over eight decades, a Syrian president is set to visit the White House, marking a dramatic shift in the relationship between Damascus and Washington. President Donald Trump will host Syria’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, for talks in Washington, D.C., on November 10, 2025. The meeting, confirmed by multiple administration officials and Syrian diplomats, represents not just a symbolic milestone but the possible opening of a new chapter in Middle East diplomacy and U.S.-Syrian relations, according to statements from both sides reported by Fox News Digital, France 24, and other outlets.
Al-Sharaa’s visit comes at a moment of fragile hope and persistent volatility in the region. The ceasefire and hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, which began in October, is holding but remains precarious, as highlighted by deadly Israeli strikes in Gaza earlier this week that killed 104 people, including dozens of women and children, according to Gaza health authorities quoted by AP. Against this tense backdrop, Trump’s invitation to al-Sharaa signals a willingness to re-engage with Syria after years of diplomatic isolation and conflict.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, speaking at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on November 2, described the upcoming visit as “certainly historic.” He explained, “Many topics will be discussed, starting with the lifting of sanctions. Today we are fighting the Islamic State... any effort in this regard requires international support.” Al-Shaibani emphasized that Syria hopes to establish a strong partnership with the United States, with discussions expected to address not only sanctions but also reconstruction and counter-terrorism efforts.
The visit will be al-Sharaa’s first to Washington but his second to the United States this year. In September, he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York, becoming the first Syrian president in decades to do so. His May 2025 meeting with Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was itself a watershed moment—the first encounter between U.S. and Syrian leaders in 25 years, as reported by Axios and France 24. That meeting, which took place on the sidelines of a Gulf Cooperation Council summit, saw Trump announce his intention to lift economic sanctions on Syria and encourage a reset in bilateral ties.
Al-Sharaa is a figure whose past is as controversial as it is consequential. Once known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, he led the rebel coalition Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham in the offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. His group was previously designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department, but that label was removed in June 2025 as part of Trump’s push to reset relations. “Young, attractive guy, tough guy,” Trump remarked to reporters aboard Air Force One after their first meeting, according to Fox News Digital. “Strong past, very strong past—fighter. He’s got a real shot at holding it together.”
Al-Sharaa’s history includes leading Syria’s offshoot of al-Qaeda and joining insurgents against U.S. forces in Iraq, for which he was imprisoned by U.S. troops for several years. At one point, the U.S. placed a $10 million bounty on his head. His anti-Assad group eventually broke with al-Qaeda and fought against ISIS, foreshadowing the new pragmatic alliances forming in the region.
During his visit, al-Sharaa is expected to sign an agreement for Syria to join the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, a move confirmed by both U.S. envoy Tom Barrack and Syrian officials. This development is seen as a critical step in the fight against the remnants of ISIS, which lost its last Syrian stronghold in 2019 thanks to the efforts of the coalition and local partners. “This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated when announcing the policy shift.
Another major topic on the table is the lifting of U.S. sanctions, particularly the so-called Caesar sanctions enacted in response to atrocities committed under Assad’s regime. Trump announced the cessation of sanctions against Syria during his Riyadh trip in May, although efforts to formally lift the Caesar sanctions have faced procedural delays in Congress. The State Department, as reported by Reuters, supports repealing these sanctions through the National Defense Authorization Act, which is still under discussion by lawmakers. The Caesar sanctions, named after a Syrian army defector who exposed evidence of torture and executions, targeted entities and individuals supporting Assad’s rule.
Reconstruction is also on the agenda. After more than a decade of war, Syria’s infrastructure and economy are in ruins. Syrian officials are eager for international investment and support to rebuild, and the lifting of sanctions is seen as a prerequisite for meaningful progress. “There will be many issues on the table, starting with the lifting of sanctions and opening of a new chapter between the United States and Syria. We want to establish a very strong partnership between the two countries,” Foreign Minister al-Shaibani said in Bahrain, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The visit is further complicated by the ongoing situation between Syria and Israel. Although the two countries remain technically at war, they have opened direct negotiations since Assad’s ouster. Israel has deployed troops in a UN-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and launched hundreds of air strikes since December 2024. Damascus, for its part, is seeking a security agreement that maintains the 1974 ceasefire and does not legitimize new realities on the ground. “We do not want Syria to enter a new war, and Syria is not currently in a position to threaten any party, including Israel,” Shaibani told France 24. He added that the negotiations underway focus on “reaching a security agreement that does not undermine the 1974 agreement and does not legitimize any new reality that Israel might impose in the south.”
Notably, while Trump has expressed hope that Syria might eventually join other Arab states in normalizing ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, Syrian officials insist that this is not currently under consideration. “Regarding Syria and the Abraham Accords, this is an issue that is not being considered and has not been discussed,” Shaibani clarified.
The stakes of al-Sharaa’s visit could hardly be higher. For Syria, it’s a chance to emerge from decades of isolation and begin rebuilding after years of civil war and international sanctions. For the United States, it’s an opportunity to influence the future of a country that has long been at the center of regional instability and extremism. And for the broader Middle East, the meeting could signal a new willingness among old adversaries to seek peace—or at least pragmatic coexistence—after years of bloodshed.
As the world watches, the upcoming talks at the White House may well set the tone for a new era in U.S.-Syrian relations and wider regional diplomacy. The outcome, however, remains uncertain, hinging on both leaders’ willingness to compromise and the region’s ever-shifting realities.
