Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with President Trump at the White House yesterday. It was the first visit by a Syrian president to Washington in history, and it comes just days after the U.S. said al-Sharaa was no longer a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” Al-Sharaa once had a $10 million bounty on his head and was jailed by U.S. forces as an insurgent in Iraq from 2005 to 2011. He was also the leader of the Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was formerly al-Qaeda’s official wing in Syria before breaking off in 2016. In the Oval Office, President Trump promised sanctions relief for Syria and commented on the historic nature of his meeting with al-Sharaa.

President Donald Trump: “We want to see Syria become a country that’s very successful, and I think this leader can do it. I really do. I think this leader can do it. And people said he’s had a rough past. We’ve all had rough pasts, but he has had a rough past. And I think, frankly, if you didn’t have a rough past, you wouldn’t have a chance.”