5/15 – International News & Diplomacy Analysis

President Donald Trump announced on May 13 that the United States would lift all sanctions on Syria, signaling a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward one of its most vilified former adversaries. The announcement was swiftly followed by an unprecedented meeting the next day in Riyadh with Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa—a former jihadist leader once affiliated with al-Qaeda. This made Trump the first president in over 25 years to meet with a Syrian president—where he also urged Syria to normalize ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

The encounter, which took place on the sidelines of a Gulf regional summit and in the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, caps a week of high-stakes diplomacy in the Middle East. Trump’s meeting with al-Sharaa, combined with arms and investment deals with Gulf states and renewed talks on Iran’s nuclear program, suggests a recalibration of U.S. strategy in the region—one less anchored to traditional allies like Israel and more focused on broadening America’s network of partners.

Trump’s decision to lift economic sanctions against Syria marks a notable change in U.S. foreign policy. The Islamist-led government of Ahmed al-Sharaa seized power in December following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa, once the leader of al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch and a former detainee in a U.S. prison in Iraq, has since renounced terrorism and is seeking international legitimacy.

The sanctions removal, which will require a combination of executive orders and Congressional repeal for the most punitive measures, reopens Syria to global financial systems and investment. Sharaa has promised to accept the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel, expel foreign militias—including Palestinian factions—and open Syrian energy markets to American firms.

The White House framed the decision as a chance to help Syria “move beyond the past and build a future rooted in stability and economic opportunity.” Trump himself called Syria’s new president “a young, attractive guy with a very strong past,” and said the country now had “a real shot at greatness.”

One of Trump’s most ambitious demands during his meeting with Sharaa was for Syria to join the Abraham Accords—the U.S.-brokered agreements that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states, including the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco.

The proposal comes at a time of mounting tensions between Washington and Israel, which views the Assad-Sharaa transition warily. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has remained silent on the U.S.-Syria pivot but has reportedly escalated airstrikes in southern Syria in recent weeks, warning it will not tolerate a strengthened Islamist government so close to its border.

Trump defended his approach, insisting that his growing ties with Arab powers were “very good for Israel” and that reshaping the regional balance could eventually contribute to long-term peace.

Syria’s Domestic Challenges Persist

Trump’s outreach is a political windfall for Sharaa, whose government has faced enormous domestic challenges since Assad’s fall. While foreign legitimacy has surged, with meetings in Paris and now Riyadh, unrest and mistrust at home persist.

Sectarian tensions are boiling over in cities like Homs, where violence between Alawite and Sunni communities has intensified. Minority groups, particularly Christians and Druze, have expressed fear about creeping Islamist influence in the new administration. Recent incidents—including religiously motivated attacks on bars and nightclubs in Damascus—have fueled concerns that extremist elements may be quietly tolerated by the government.

Despite issuing an interim constitution earlier this year, which leans heavily on Islamic law, Sharaa has made little effort to foster inclusive governance or engage in meaningful national dialogue. Efforts to unify militias into a national army have stalled, civil registries are barely functioning, and local governance remains fractured.

Geopolitical Realignment

Trump’s Gulf tour has highlighted the changing landscape of U.S. alliances in the region. His administration is quietly pursuing parallel nuclear talks with Iran—despite tensions over uranium enrichment—and is softening its stance toward former adversaries like Syria. At the same time, longstanding U.S. allies like Israel feel increasingly sidelined.

Netanyahu, who was once central to America’s Middle East policy, has been excluded from this week’s summitry. Neither the U.S. nor Gulf states are willing to host the Israeli prime minister while the Gaza war rages on. Normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel has stalled, with Riyadh insisting that no diplomatic ties can be formed without serious progress toward Palestinian statehood.

Trump’s balancing act—urging Syria to join the Abraham Accords while pressing Iran for a nuclear deal—reflects a new pragmatism in U.S. regional strategy. But it also risks alienating Israel at a time when its regional security concerns are growing.

Beyond diplomacy, Trump’s four-day trip to the Gulf has focused heavily on economic agreements. In Saudi Arabia, he secured a $600 billion commitment in investments into the U.S., along with $142 billion in arms deals. In Qatar, Trump was welcomed with a Boeing aircraft deal valued at more than $200 billion, marking the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to Doha in over two decades.

Trump’s regional envoy Steve Witkoff has also been tasked with building momentum around expanded economic ties and supporting a regional vision of stability through investment. Gulf leaders, eager to rebuild relations with Washington, have given Trump a hero’s welcome—complete with drone shows, grand receptions, and photo ops aimed at reinforcing a new era of American-Arab alignment.

Analysis:

Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria and urge normalization with Israel marks the boldest diplomatic maneuver of his second term. It represents a break from decades of American policy that treated Syria as a pariah state and could redefine the regional balance of power.

But the success of this gambit is far from guaranteed. While Sharaa may have secured foreign recognition, his domestic credibility is fragile, and minority communities remain deeply suspicious of his Islamist past. The Syrian state is fragmented, and efforts to build a unified national framework are still in their infancy.

For the U.S., the risks are clear. Embracing a former jihadist, even one who claims to have renounced extremism, will test diplomatic boundaries and domestic political tolerance. Congress may resist full sanctions repeal without concrete evidence of change.

Israel, long America’s closest ally in the region, is also watching nervously. Trump’s reshuffling of priorities—pursuing peace with Syria and nuclear engagement with Iran—could force Israel to reconsider its own strategic posture.

Overall, President Trump’s embrace of Syria’s new leader and his call for normalization with Israel mark a significant moment in the evolving Middle East order. The lifting of sanctions may bring economic revival to Syria, and the overtures to Israel could lay the groundwork for historic realignment.