US-Syria meeting signals turning point in regional relations

Following Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack marked the encounter as a “decisive turning point” as Syria evolves from isolation to a US ally assisting the fight against adversaries in the Middle East, The National reported on November 13th.

Taking to X, Barrack wrote: “Damascus will now actively assist us in confronting and dismantling the remnants of ISIS, the IRGC [Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist networks.”

The international coalition against ISIS has received requests to vacate the region, in order to preserve political sovereignty as the threat of the Islamic state has largely subsided. Sharaa established the responsibility of Syria in preserving security against ISIS.  

Sharaa’s predecessor, Bashar al-Assad, was allied with the IRGC and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah as part of a 13-year civil war. Syria’s Geopolitical stance has since shifted following Sharaa’s toppling of the previous regime last year. 

In regards to Barrack’s comments, his message is unclear to many as the IRGC no longer has a presence in Syria following Iran’s withdrawal, while Hamas has no armed presence there.

ISIS cells infrequently operate and conduct attacks in Syria and abroad, as the group has been vastly depleted and lost much of its hold on Syrian territory. 

During his visit to the U.S., Sharaa declared his commitment to join the US-led global coalition against ISIS alongside 89 other countries.

Tom Barrack reacted to this, writing that the declaration was a “historic framework marking Syria’s transition from a source of terrorism to a counter-terrorism partner – a commitment to rebuild, to co-operate, and to contribute to the stability of an entire region.”

Ahmed al-Sharaa is the first Syrian leader to visit the US since Syria became independent in 1946.

The National, Maghrebi.org