Syrian President Arrives in US for Landmark Visit After Removal From Terror Blacklist

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a diplomatic moment of profound historical significance, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, a trip that would have been unimaginable just one year ago.

His arrival, reported by Syria's state news agency SANA and confirmed by Agence France-Presse (AFP), came just one day after the United States formally removed him from a terrorism blacklist, a decisive move that cleared the final hurdle for a pivotal White House meeting with US President Donald Trump scheduled for Monday.

The visit marks a stunning culmination of a rapid and astonishing transformation for Sharaa, who less than a year ago led the rebel forces that ousted the five-decade-long Assad family regime.

According to analysts cited by AFP, this is the first such official visit by a Syrian president since the country gained its independence in 1946, signaling a dramatic realignment of US policy in the Middle East and a powerful international embrace of Syria’s new leadership. This trip builds on the initial contact between the two leaders, who first met in Riyadh during President Trump's regional tour in May.

The diplomatic runway for this historic visit was meticulously prepared by Washington in the preceding days.

On Friday, the US State Department formally announced Sharaa's removal from its list of "Specially Designated Global Terrorists," a designation that once came with a multi-million-dollar bounty on his head. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott explained that the decision was a direct result of tangible steps taken by the new Syrian government.

"These actions are being taken in recognition of the progress demonstrated by the Syrian leadership after the departure of Bashar al-Assad and more than 50 years of repression under the Assad regime," Pigott said in a statement reported by AFP.

He specified that Sharaa's government was actively meeting US demands, including cooperating on efforts to find missing Americans and working to eliminate any remaining chemical weapons stockpiles.

This US action followed a successful Washington-led diplomatic push at the United Nations.

On Thursday, as reported by Kurdistan24, the UN Security Council voted to remove Sharaa from its own long-standing terrorism sanctions list. The resolution, which passed with 14 members in favor and only China abstaining, removed a significant legal and diplomatic stigma that had complicated Sharaa’s international travel, even forcing him to seek special waivers for his first trip to US soil in September to address the UN General Assembly.

The journey from internationally sanctioned militant leader to a guest at the White House is one of the most remarkable political narratives of the modern era. Sharaa once rose to lead Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a powerful rebel group formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

However, as noted in previous reports, he formally disavowed the global terrorist network nearly a decade ago in a calculated, long-term effort to rebrand himself and his movement as a nationalist opposition force against the brutal Assad dictatorship.

In November 2024, his forces, backed by Turkey and Gulf Arab powers, launched a lightning offensive that saw the Assad regime crumble in a matter of days. Since taking power, his new administration has sought to break decisively from its violent past, presenting a more moderate image to both the Syrian people and foreign powers.

Washington has not only taken note but has actively facilitated this transition, with the State Department formally revoking the terrorist designation for HTS as a group in July.

The strategic objectives of this high-stakes visit are beginning to come into focus. According to AFP, US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack stated earlier this month that Sharaa would "hopefully" sign an agreement to formally join the international US-led alliance against the Islamic State (IS) group.

In a sign of deepening security cooperation, a diplomatic source in Syria told AFP that the United States plans to establish a military base near Damascus "to coordinate humanitarian aid and observe developments between Syria and Israel."

Demonstrating its commitment to this new security partnership, the Syrian interior ministry announced on Saturday a major new anti-IS operation. According to the SANA news agency, the ministry carried out 61 raids and made 71 arrests in a "proactive campaign to neutralise the threat" of IS sleeper cells. The raids reportedly targeted locations in Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Homs, Deir ez-Zor, Raqa, and Damascus.

In a striking display of the new, informal rapport with his American counterparts, Sharaa shared a video on social media after his arrival in the US showing him playing a relaxed game of basketball with CENTCOM commander General Brad Cooper and Major General Kevin Lambert, the head of the international anti-IS operation in Iraq, under the caption "work hard, play harder".

This White House visit is being hailed as a hugely symbolic moment. Michael Hanna, the US program director for the International Crisis Group, told AFP that the visit "is further testament to the US commitment to the new Syria and a hugely symbolic moment for the country's new leader, who thus marks another step in his astonishing transformation from militant leader to global statesman."

Beyond the symbolism, Sharaa is expected to seek tangible support for the monumental task facing his nation: rebuilding after 13 years of devastating civil war. In October, the World Bank issued a "conservative best estimate" placing the cost of rebuilding Syria at a staggering $216 billion.

A significant impediment to this effort is the web of international sanctions, particularly the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, a major US sanctions law passed in response to the Assad regime's horrific war crimes.

As reported by Kurdistan24, the Trump administration fears that if Syria is not reconnected to the global financial system, it will hamper the rebuilding effort and heighten the risk of a renewed conflict. Administration officials are now actively pushing for the repeal of the Caesar Act, a move that has already passed the Senate but faces resistance in the House of Representatives from skeptics wary of easing pressure too quickly.

In an unusual twist, this push is supported by some American families of those who were killed or disappeared under the Assad regime. They argue that lifting sanctions is essential to fund and facilitate the long-term, complex work of excavating mass graves and investigating the fate of the missing.

As Sharaa prepares to walk into the White House, he does so as a fully recognized leader, carrying the immense hopes of a nation desperate for peace and the heavy burden of securing the international support needed to rebuild from the ashes.