From Terrorist to White House Guest: The Al-Sharaa-Trump Meeting and the Shadows of Syria’s New Order

On November 10, 2025, the Oval Office hosted an encounter that would have been unthinkable a year ago: U.S. President Donald Trump shaking hands with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa—better known to the world as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the former al-Qaeda commander once slapped with a $10 million U.S. bounty for terrorism.

This marked the first White House visit by a Syrian leader since independence in 1946, capping a whirlwind transformation for al-Sharaa, whose Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024.

Over an hour-long discussion, the two men pledged to “strengthen and develop” U.S.-Syria ties, with al-Sharaa committing Syria to the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS—ironically, a group he once helped fight under al-Qaeda’s banner. Trump, ever the dealmaker, even quipped about gifting al-Sharaa bottles of his “Victory 45-47” cologne, asking with a wink, “How many wives do you have? With you guys, I never know.”

But why host a man the U.S. branded a global terrorist just months prior? The official line from Washington: pragmatism. Al-Sharaa, scrubbed of his nom de guerre and terrorist designation in May 2025, represents a post-Assad Syria eager for sanctions relief and economic revival.

The Treasury extended a 180-day waiver on Caesar sanctions post-meeting, signaling a thaw after 14 years of isolation. Yet beneath the handshakes lies a web of realpolitik, where old enemies become allies in the pursuit of stability—or dominance. And at its heart? Israel’s unyielding influence over the region’s chessboard.