Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa performs the Umrah, or the minor pilgrimage, in Islam's holiest city of Mecca in western Saudi Arabia on February 3, 2025.

Al-Sharaa’s ties to al-Qaeda stretch back to 2003, when he joined extremists battling US troops in Iraq. The Syrian native was detained by the US military but remained in Iraq.

President Donald Trump met with Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, a day after saying that he would order an end to U.S. sanctions on Syria in order ...