Overview
- The Treasury extended a 180-day exemption under the Caesar sanctions and recent U.S. and U.N. actions removed terrorism designations on Ahmad al-Sharaa and select officials.
- U.S. officials reported that Syria will join the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS during Al-Sharaa’s visit, enabling closer coordination with American forces.
- Washington will allow Syria to resume operations at its embassy in the U.S. capital, according to an American official familiar with the steps announced during the trip.
- The leaders met privately at the White House in a closed-door session that constituted the first visit by a Syrian head of state to Washington since the country’s independence in 1946.
- A lasting repeal of the Caesar law requires congressional action, with Senator Jeanne Shaheen backing an unconditional end and Senator Lindsey Graham seeking conditions, while the Pentagon has disputed reports of a planned U.S. base near Damascus.