‘Young, attractive, tough guy’: Trump praises Syrian President Sharaa, says he intends to make peace with Israel

After a historic first meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who is still a UN and U.S.-designated terrorist, Trump praised him and told reporters that he intended to sign a peace treaty with Israel in the future.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One while flying to Qatar following the meeting with al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh, Trump said he found al-Sharaa “great.”

“Young, attractive guy, tough guy. Strong past, very strong past – fighter. He’s got a real shot at holding it together,” Trump said.

Al-Sharaa remains on the U.S. State Department’s list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists for his past as a senior commander in Al Qaeda and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a group he founded after leaving Al Qaeda and disbanded this year. He is also still on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

A $10 million reward by the State Department for al-Sharaa, based on the “multiple terrorist attacks throughout Syria” that were carried out by the Al Nusrah Front under his leadership, “often against civilians” was withdrawn by the Biden administration after he seized power in Syria in December 2024.

Trump said the decision to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, which he announced on Tuesday, was coordinated with Israel, which opposes granting the Islamist-dominated government legitimacy.

“I mean, we told them we’re doing it. The reason I did it, and I think it’s been very popular, certainly in the Middle East,” he said, adding that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and MBS asked him to do it.

“I spoke with President Erdogan, who I’m very friendly with, and he feels that [al-Sharaa has] got a shot… it’s a torn-up country,” he said.

Trump estimated that once the country has regained a measure of stability, Syria would join the Abraham Accords and make peace with Israel.

“I think they have to get themselves straightened up. I told him [al-Sharaa], ‘I hope you’re going to join when it’s straightened out.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ But they have a lot of work to do.”

Al-Sharaa has already talked about possibly joining the Abraham Accords last week, while visiting France. There, he also confirmed that indirect talks with Israel are being held to lower the tensions.

Speaking to Israel’s Kan Reshet Bet Radio after the historic meeting, a Syrian official reiterated that the new government wants peace with all its neighbors.

Ali al-Rifa’i, head of the spokesperson department at the Syrian Ministry of Information, emphasized that “Syria does not want war. We want peace with everyone, we are interested in the region being stable and we do not want war with anyone.”