Quick Hit:

President Donald Trump met with Syria’s newly installed president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the first U.S.-Syria presidential summit in 25 years. Trump stunned allies by lifting long-standing sanctions on Damascus and announcing major Saudi investment deals on the first day of his Middle East tour.

Key Details:

• Al-Sharaa, a former jihadist leader still labeled a terrorist by the U.S., rose to power after toppling Assad in December.
• Trump lifted all sanctions on Syria following talks with Saudi and Turkish leaders, signaling a major policy shift.
• The move strains relations with Israel, which remains skeptical of Syria’s new leadership and was left out of Trump’s itinerary.

Diving Deeper:

In a dramatic turn of events, President Donald Trump met with Syria’s new Islamist president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on the sidelines of a regional summit Tuesday—signaling a reversal in U.S. Middle East policy. The 33-minute meeting marked the first direct engagement between U.S. and Syrian leaders in a quarter-century and came just hours after Trump announced a full rollback of American economic sanctions on Syria.

Al-Sharaa, once aligned with ISIS and al Qaeda, has taken power in the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s fall and is still officially designated a terrorist by Washington. His rise and Trump's overture mark a geopolitical pivot that could realign regional power dynamics—and inflame tensions with key U.S. allies, especially Israel.

Speaking in Riyadh, Trump made clear that his decision to lift sanctions followed extensive talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, both of whom have backed Sharaa’s push for legitimacy. “We’re turning a page,” Trump said to thunderous applause at a packed U.S.-Saudi business forum, where he also unveiled $300 billion in new investment deals with the kingdom.

Trump characterized the sanctions as relics of a failed Obama-era policy designed to contain Assad, not the new leadership. “The people of Syria deserve a chance to rebuild, and we are not going to let China or Iran beat us to it,” Trump declared.

Al-Sharaa, for his part, has made clear his desire to court Western investment and reduce Syria’s dependence on China, Russia, and Iran. According to Syrian officials, he shared with Trump a “Marshall Plan” vision for reconstructing the country—with American oil and infrastructure firms at the helm.

Despite being just a short flight away, Trump isn’t scheduled to visit Israel—a notable omission amid friction over U.S. policies on Iran, Gaza, and Hezbollah. Trump did, however, deliver a pointed ultimatum to Tehran: abandon its nuclear ambitions or face a new wave of “massive maximum pressure.”

Trump’s Middle East tour comes at a time of immense regional volatility. Two years of war since the October 2023 Hamas attacks have seen Iran weakened, Assad ousted, and power in the Arab world increasingly centered in Riyadh. Trump, seizing the moment, appears intent on writing a new chapter for America’s role in the region—one that puts business, power projection, and bold diplomacy front and center.

Before departing for Qatar to discuss energy and security, Trump celebrated the release of Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage held by Hamas—a diplomatic win that had eluded his predecessor. But as Trump’s Syria policy begins to take shape, it’s already redefining the lines between allies and adversaries, in a Middle East Trump is once again reshaping in his image.