Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa desperately sought a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump while he was traveling this week in the Middle East to ease sanctions and improve relations.
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, now refers to himself by his birth name as Ahmed al-Sharaa (Muhammad al-Jawlani). He was the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Syrian militant group that evolved from the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Jolani and HTS took control Syria, including the capital city, Damascus.
Al-Jolani has been working to persuade the international media and foreign powers that he has transitioned from a terrorist commander to a statesman, but skepticism remains about whether such a transformation is genuine.
On Wednesday President Trump met with al-Jolani in Saudi Arabia.
More photos. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was with Trump during the meeting.
عاجل..
بدعوة كريمة من ولي العهد الأمير محمد بن سلمان..
الرئيس الأمريكي والسوري و (التركي هاتفيًا) يعقدون في الرياض لقاءً حول مستقبل الأوضاع في سوريا، وتأكيد أهمية استقرارها وسيادتها ووحدة أراضيها، وتحقيق الأمن والرخاء للشعب السوري.
— أخبار السعودية (@SaudiNews50) May 14, 2025
President Trump also held a phone call with the Turkish President, the Syrian, and Saudi leader.
In a recent interview Ahmad Sharaa (Julani) told reporters President Trump is a man who will “achieve great peace in the world.”
In a recent interview with the UK’s The Rest Is Politics, Syria’s self-appointed president and former Al Qaeda affiliate, Ahmad Sharaa (Julani), said he believes US President Donald Trump is a man who will ‘achieve great peace in the world.’ pic.twitter.com/IcAKa3NSVo
— TMJ News Network (@tmjnewsnetwork) February 23, 2025
Syrian leader Al-Julani offered President Trump access to Syria’s oil and gas, normalization with the “Zionist entity,” and even a “Trump Tower” in Damascus — all in exchange for lifting sanctions.
THis was a remarkable meeting. Who else could have made this happen except Trump?
#Trump asked #Julani to #Syria to sign the Ibrahimi Agreement, expel foreign agents, and take over ISIS detention centers; Al-Shara invited American companies to invest in oil and gas; Erdogan also participated in the meeting via video conferencehttps://t.co/ZN6V0sm5ZM pic.twitter.com/YFgquZAD2T
— Tavasoli parsa (@TavasoliKazem) May 14, 2025
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