US envoy Barrack says Syria will help fight Hezbollah, Hamas and IRGC

Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara’s meeting with US President Donald Trump was a “decisive turning point” in Syria’s evolution from isolation to a US ally that will help fight mutual adversaries in the Middle East, said US envoy Tom Barrack.

"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,” Mr Barrack wrote on his X account on Thursday.

Mr Al Shara's visit was the stage for Syria’s entry to the international coalition to defeat ISIS.

The IRGC and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah were both allies of deposed Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad, taking his side in a brutal 13-year civil war that saw several international proxies take part. A rebel alliance led by Mr Al Shara toppled Mr Al Assad’s reign in December, shifting Syria’s geopolitical standing virtually overnight.

It was not immediately clear what Mr Barrack meant by his statement, as the IRGC no longer has a presence in Syria following Iran’s withdrawal, while Hamas maintains no armed presence there.

Although vastly depleted after losing hold of its territories in Syria and Iraq, ISIS cells still sporadically operate and conduct attacks in Syria and abroad.

During his visit to the US this week, Mr Al Shara announced his commitment and readiness to join the US-led global coalition against ISIS alongside 89 other countries.

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", Mr Barrack wrote.

Mr Al Shara is the first Syrian head of state to visit the US since Syria gained independence in 1946.

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Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

If you go

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'Peninsula'

Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra

Director: Yeon Sang-ho

Rating: 2/5

US envoy Barrack says Syria will help fight Hezbollah, Hamas and IRGC

President Ahmad Al Shara's US visit signals a dramatic reorientation of Syria's international standing following fall of Bashar Al Assad

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

If you go