Trump Hosts Syria’s Al‑Sharaa as U.S. Lifts Terror Label and Pauses Sanctions

Overview

• President Donald Trump met Syrian interim leader Ahmed al‑Sharaa at the White House on November 10 after the State Department removed him from U.S. terrorist designations on November 7.
• The Treasury Department announced a 180‑day suspension of U.S. sanctions on Damascus, complementing recent U.N. moves that lifted terrorism‑related sanctions on al‑Sharaa.
• Al‑Sharaa’s visit, conducted with limited public protocol, marked the first by a Syrian head of state to the White House since Syria’s independence in 1946.
• U.S. officials are mediating Syria–Israel security discussions described as indirect and centered on reviving U.N.-supervised buffer arrangements based on the 1974 disengagement framework.
• The administration links the policy shift to unlocking reconstruction financing estimated above $200 billion and to counter‑ISIS coordination, while critics cite al‑Sharaa’s past Al‑Qaeda ties and rights concerns; any full repeal of Caesar Act sanctions would require congressional action.