On the second day of his gulf tour, U.S. President Donald Trump met Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia and urged him to normalise relations with Israel, following Trump’s unexpected move to lift decades-old sanctions on Syria.
“I told him, ‘I hope you’re going to join when it’s straightened out,’” Trump said of his conversation with Sharaa, referring to the Abraham Accords that have already brought the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco into formal ties with Israel. “He said, ‘Yes.’ But they have a lot of work to do,” Trump added as he continues with his gulf tour on Wednesday.
Earlier in Riyadh, Trump had announced, “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness. It’s their time to shine. We’re taking them all off. Good luck, Syria—show us something very special.” He said the decision followed discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, both of whom lobbied for relief.
Sharaa, who seized power after leading a rebel coalition and later renouncing ties to al-Qaeda, has signalled readiness to rebuild his war-torn country. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said, “We … stand ready to foster a relationship with the United States that is rooted in mutual respect, trust and shared interests,” as per Reuters.
After the Riyadh meeting—attended by Crown Prince Mohammed—Trump departed for Doha, where he presided over a record-breaking $1.2 trillion deal for Qatar Airways to buy Boeing jets and GE Aerospace engines. He declined to dwell on Qatar’s separate offer to donate a Boeing 747-8 as a replacement for Air Force One, telling reporters the arrangement would be “stupid” to reject and was “a gift to the Department of Defense, not to me.”
Israeli Concerns on Trump’s Gulf Tour
In Jerusalem, officials reacted with unease. An Israeli government source warned that lifting sanctions “would clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organisations and foreign investors, but risks empowering a regime we still view as hostile.” Israel has continued air strikes against targets in Syria since Sharaa’s rise and describes him as a former jihadist despite his 2016 split from al-Qaeda.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained publicly silent but has privately questioned the wisdom of the U.S. decision, according to Israeli media.
Looking Ahead
Trump told reporters that stronger U.S. relations with Gulf states and Syria would ultimately “be very good for Israel,” helping to counter the influence of Iran and Russia. He also hinted that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio would soon travel to Damascus to open formal dialogue.
Back in Riyadh, Senator Jeanne Shaheen praised the sanctions lift as an opportunity for “historic peace deal and victory for U.S. interests in Syria,” while Senator Lindsey Graham cautioned that “there is a lot that must be learned before making that determination.”
Agency Reports-Reuters
