The fall of Assad and Syria's new era under Ahmed al-Sharaa

President Joe Biden called Assad's fall "a fundamental act of justice" and "a moment of risk."^[8] Israel carried out hundreds of strikes on Syrian weapons sites, including suspected chemical weapons sites, saying it wanted to keep them from falling into rebel hands.^[9] The United States made contact with al-Sharaa's group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and dropped a $10 million bounty on him.^[10][11]

The new government faced sectarian violence. In March 2025, more than 600 people were killed in clashes between security forces and Assad loyalists and in the revenge killings that followed, a war monitoring group said.^[12] In June, a suicide bomber attacked a church in Damascus, killing at least 20 people.^[13] Israel struck Damascus in July as Syrian forces clashed with Druze groups, before the two countries agreed to a ceasefire.^[14][15]

Al-Sharaa's government also won recognition abroad. In May 2025, President Donald Trump met al-Sharaa and announced that he would lift sanctions on Syria.^[4][16] In October, committees chose a transitional parliament in Syria's first vote since Assad's fall, and in November al-Sharaa became the first Syrian president to visit the White House.^[17][18]

In December 2025, two US soldiers and an American interpreter were killed in an ambush in Syria, and the United States launched strikes on Islamic State fighters there.^[19][20][21] Bombings struck Damascus in 2026.^[22][23] Syria said Russia had agreed to end its use of two bases on the Mediterranean coast.^[24] In August, a Syrian court sentenced Assad to death in absentia, and that month the United States removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.^[25][5] As Saudi Arabia came under Houthi attack in the fall of 2026, Syria considered sending troops to help it fight the group.^[26] On November 4 Saudi Arabia signed its first defense cooperation agreement with Syria's new leadership,^[27] and Reuters reported that Syria was giving the kingdom military advice and training and had sent a limited number of personnel.^[28] Syria's foreign minister said his government was considering joining the Mecca Pact, a Saudi-led security partnership.^[29]