President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia, the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years and one that could mark a turning point for the region as Syria struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation.
The meeting marks a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the over 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family, and for its new leader, who once had a $10 million U.S. bounty for his arrest.
Meanwhile, Trump said Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim Al Thani reminded him of the Saudi crown prince. He called them both “tall, handsome guys that happen to be very smart” — the latest display of warm relations between the president and his Gulf Arab hosts.
In an interview with Fox News aboard Air Force One, Trump defended his efforts to accept a donated replacement plane from Qatar, the second stop on his Middle East trip. Democrats say accepting the $400 million jet is a national security threat.
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US warns against helping Yemen’s Houthi rebels
The United States says it will pursue sanctions against any country, group or person that provides fuel, war material or other resources to Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Last week, Trump announced that the U.S. would halt its strikes on the Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that agreed to stop its attacks on American vessels in the Red Sea.
Acting U.S. ambassador Dorothy Shea told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday that Iran has enabled Houthi attacks “with military, logistical, and intelligence support.”
“This council must not tolerate Iranian defiance of its resolutions and should impose consequences on sanctions violators using the tools at its disposal,” she said.
Trump arrives for Qatari state dinner
The presidential motorcade has pulled up at the Lusail Palace outside the capital of Doha. There were palm trees and flags for the U.S. and Qatar, plus about two dozen camels.
Judge says Georgetown student can be released from immigration detention as case proceeds
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered that a Georgetown scholar from India be released from immigration detention after he was detained in the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign college students.
Khan Suri was arrested by masked, plainclothes officers on March 17 outside his apartment complex in Arlington, Virginia. Officials said his visa was revoked because of his social media posts and his wife’s connection to Gaza as a Palestinian American. They accused him of supporting Hamas, which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.
By the time Khan Suri’s petition was filed, authorities had already put him on a plane to Louisiana without allowing him to update his family or lawyer, Khan Suri’s attorneys said. A few days later, he was moved to Texas.
Would RFK Jr. vaccinate his kids today?
Kennedy said he would “probably” vaccinate his children against measles today, if given the option.
Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat of Wisconsin, questioned Kennedy during the House hearing on his proposed budget for the nation’s health department, which would cut billions of dollars from infectious disease, medical research, maternal health and preschool programs.
After giving his answer, Kennedy demurred, saying he doesn’t want to seem like he’s dispensing advice. And he would not directly answer whether he’d vaccinate his kids against chickenpox or polio.
“My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant,” Kennedy said. The health department will eventually “lay out the pros and cons” of vaccines in guidance, he said.
Trump sees a lot to like in the Middle East
For a former real estate developer with flamboyant tastes, this week’s trip has been a tantalizing glimpse at the wealth of his oil-rich hosts.
Trump has marveled at the “perfecto” marble in Qatar and praised the “gleaming marvels” in Saudi Arabia. He’s also groused about the “much less impressive” plane that serves as Air Force One.
The president’s envy will likely fuel his plans to upgrade the White House, which he’s talked about renovating and expanding.
▶ Read more about Trump’s reactions to his Arab hosts’ wealth.
RFK Jr.’s attends first Senate hearing as health secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is making first appearances as health secretary before Congress — the House appropriations committee Wednesday morning and Senate health committee in the afternoon.
Senators have questions about the thousands of job he’s eliminated at the $1.7 trillion Department of Health and Human Services, the steep cuts he’s made to vaccination campaigns and his response to a measles outbreak that’s sickened 1,000 people.
His agency’s budget request includes a $500 million boost for his “Make America Healthy Again” initiative to promote nutrition and healthier lifestyles while deeply cutting infectious disease prevention, maternal health and preschool programs. Kennedy is sharing “his vision on how HHS’ transformation will improve health outcomes, eliminate redundancies to save the American taxpayer, and streamline operations to improve efficiency and service,” an agency statement says.
▶ Read more on Kennedy’s return to Capitol Hill
Syrian leader told visiting congressman he was open to negotiating normal relations with Israel
Al-Sharaa told a visiting Republican congressman last month in Damascus that he was “open” to negotiating a normalization of relations between Syria and Israel.
Rep. Marlin Stutzman, an Indiana Republican, also asked the interim Syrian leader about signing an Abraham accord, pushed by the United States to normalize relations between Arab nations and Israel.
Al-Sharaa responded that “after some negotiations, he would be open to the Abraham accords,” Stutzman recounted Wednesday by phone.
Al-Sharaa’s overriding goal was a free and unified Syria, with hopes of rebuilding its damaged economy through tourism, trade and commerce, Stutzman said.
“We have to watch day to day, and see what his actions are,” the congressman said.
House Democrats say Congress would have to approve Trump’s acceptance of free Air Force One
House Democratic lawmakers are urging Republicans to schedule a vote if Trump accepts a free Air Force One replacement from Qatar.
Rep. Ted Lieu, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, argued that congressional approval is required.
“People need to ask: Why is a foreign country trying to give this massive gift to Donald Trump?” Lieu said. “Think about the precedent it would set.”
Trump has stressed that the plane would initially be donated to the Defense Department. After his term ends, he says it would be donated to a future presidential library.
US House Speaker: Trump’s plans for Qatar plane are ‘not my lane’
Mike Johnson declined to weigh in on Trump’s plans to accept a free plane from Qatar to replace Air Force One.
“It’s not my lane,” the Republican leader said at a Wednesday news conference, although he later said he believes the emoluments clause doesn’t apply because the gift would go to the country, not to Trump himself.
Johnson said that he’s “not following all of the twists and turns” of the process as he focuses on passing a budget reconciliation bill.
Some tech stocks rise amid Mideast dealmaking
Super Micro Computer surged 12.7% Wednesday after signing a partnership agreement with Saudi Arabian data center company DataVolt.
The benchmark S&P 500 index that sits at the center of many 401(k) accounts has erased all its losses since Trump escalated his global trade war and is back to within 4.2% of its all-time high set in February.
Trump has delayed his most severe tariffs against America’s trading partners, but some import taxes remain and uncertainty continues to hang over businesses and consumers. The on-again-off-again nature of Trump’s trade policy has left companies unable to plan ahead and consumers nervous about spending.
Trump administration rescinds curbs on AI chip exports
A Biden-era rule due to take effect Thursday would have limited the number of artificial intelligence chips that could be exported to certain international markets — including Middle Eastern countries Trump is visiting this week — without federal approval.
The rule sorted more than 100 countries into tiers of export restrictions. “These new requirements would have stifled American innovation and saddled companies with burdensome new regulatory requirements,” the Commerce Department stated in its guidance.
Other nations and U.S. chipmakers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices were opposed. Microsoft President Brad Smith told the Senate this week that the rule sent “a message to 120 nations that they couldn’t necessarily count on us to provide the AI they want and need.”
White House reveals more details on Trump’s meeting with Syria’s new leader
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s statement says Trump urged al-Sharaa to:
1. diplomatically recognize Israel
2. “tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria”
3. help the U.S. stop any resurgence of the Islamic State group
4. assume responsibility for over a dozen detention centers holding some 9,000 suspected Islamic State members
These prisons are run by U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led forces who agreed last month that all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the Northeast would be brought under the central government’s control by the end of the year.
Trump’s desire for Syria to take over the prisons also signals the potential of a full American military withdrawal from Syria.
Trump praises his Qatari host as an ‘outstanding man’
Trump said the Qatari leader reminds him of the Saudi crown prince, who he had just visited. He called them both “tall, handsome guys that happen to be very smart.”
Trump and Al Thani then signed economic and defense agreements:
5. The first had Qatar buying airplanes from Boeing, the American aerospace company whose chief executive attended the event. Trump said it was the largest order of jets in the company history, worth over $200 billion.
6. Next up was a defense deal and the purchase of military drones.
7. The final cooperation agreement was signed by Trump and Al Thani themselves.
Trump denies knowledge of $2 billion crypto deal with his family company
Eric Trump attended a recent cryptocurrency conference in the United Arab Emirates with Zach Witkoff, a founder of the Trump family crypto company, World Liberty Financial, and son of Trump’s do-everything envoy to the Mideast, Steve Witkoff.
During the conference, a state-backed investment company in Abu Dhabi announced it had chosen USD, World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, to back a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Critics say that allows Trump family-aligned interests to essentially take a cut of each dollar invested.
“I don’t know anything about it,” Trump said when asked by reporters about the transaction on Wednesday.
Eric and Donald Jr. traveled the Mideast ahead of Trump’s tour
It’s not just the “gesture” of a $400 million luxury plane that President Donald Trump says he’s smart to accept from Qatar. It’s not even that the Trump family has fast-growing business ties in the Middle East that offer the potential of vast profits.
It’s the combination of these things and more — deals between a family whose patriarch oversees the U.S. government and a region whose leaders are fond of currying favor through money and lavish gifts — that’s raising concerns about their impact on U.S. policy.
Before Trump began his visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, his sons Eric and Donald Jr. traveled the Middle East extensively in recent weeks, drumming up business for The Trump Organization. Eric Trump announced plans for an 80-story Trump Tower Dubai in the UAE’s largest city.
White House bristled at conflict of interest concerns
Asked before this trip if Trump might meet with people tied to his family’s business, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it’s “ridiculous” to “suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.”
“The president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws,” she said.
Administration officials have brushed off such concerns that Trump’s policy decisions could bleed into his family business interests, noting that Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children. A voluntary ethics agreement also bars The Trump Organization from striking deals directly with foreign governments, but unlike during his first term, allows deals with private companies abroad.
“The president is a successful businessman,” Leavitt said, “and I think, frankly, that it’s one of the many reasons that people reelected him back to this office.”
▶ Read more about Trump’s business connections in the Mideast
Israel’s PM slams French president’s criticism of blocking aid into Gaza
Benjamin Netanyahu said Emmanuel Macron is echoing “despicable propaganda” from Hamas. He accused Macron of “demanding that Israel surrender and reward terrorism.”
Macron had called Netanyahu’s decision to prevent all aid including food and medications from entering the Palestinian territory a “disgrace.”
Gaza’s 2.3 million people rely almost entirely on outside aid to survive and now face famine. Nearly half a million Palestinians could starve while 1 million others can barely get enough food, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises.
Netanyahu’s statement Wednesday said Macron had “once again chosen to stand with a murderous Islamist terrorist organization” while Israel fights “for its very existence” following the Oct. 7 2023 Hamas attack.
Dealmaking while the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is suspended
“It sounds good on paper but in practicality, it’s a disaster,” Trump said in February when he signed an executive order freezing enforcement of the law. “It’s going to mean a lot more business for America.”
Supporters see this law as an undeniable force for good in a corrupt world, a groundbreaking anti-bribery statute that has brought powerful businessmen to heel for secretly paying off foreign government officials to win contracts abroad.
Detractors say it unfairly hobbled American companies while foreign rivals, not so encumbered, swooped in.
▶ Read more on Trump’s suspension of this law
Trump to sign agreements with Qatar’s leader
Trump’s dealmaking in Qatar comes amid controversy over the country’s gift — which Trump said he’d accept — of a luxury Boeing 747-8 that the U.S. could use as Air Force One.
Qatar has also played a central role in pay-to-play-style scandals around the globe:
8. Israeli authorities are investigating allegations that Qatar hired close advisers to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch PR campaigns to improve the Gulf nation’s image among Israelis.
9. Two European Union lawmakers were accused of taking money from Doha in a scandal dubbed “Qatar-gate.”
10. U.S. prosecutors in 2020 accused Qatar of bribing FIFA executive committee members to secure the tournament in 2022.
11. In 2024, RTX Corp., the defense contractor formerly known as Raytheon, agreed to pay more than $950 million to resolve allegations that it defrauded the U.S. government and paid bribes to secure business with Qatar. Doha always has denied wrongdoing.
In a scenario mimicking the lavish Saudi welcome, Trump lands in Qatar
On his flight from Saudi Arabia, Air Force One was escorted by Qatari F-15 jets, according to a post on X by White House official Margo Martin. It was a repeat of Tuesday’s escort by Saudi Arabian fighter jets, which was a high-profile move without recent precedent.
Trump was greeted at the airport by Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim Al Thani. Both leaders then walked down a receiving line of representatives from each country at the Amiri Diwan, the government palace. The ceremonial greeting also included an escort of riders on camelback.
While Al Thani shook hands with U.S. officials, he had a warmer greeting for Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy who has played a key role in Middle East negotiations. They clasped hands and pulled each other in for an embrace. Trump then sat down briefly with Al Thani and marveled at the government palace.
“As a construction person, I’m seeing perfect marble,” said the former real estate developer. He described it as “perfecto.”
Meals provided by charity kitchens in Gaza plunge dramatically
The number of meals that charity kitchens are providing to Palestinians in Gaza has plunged to around 260,000 under Israel’s 10-week-old blockade — down from more than 1 million a day in late April, the U.N says.
Charity kitchens are the last lifeline of food for most of Gaza’s population of some 2.3 million, but they are rapidly shutting down because supplies are running out.
In the first two weeks of May, at least 112 kitchens – more than 60% of the total – shut down, the U.N. humanitarian office, or OCHA, said in a report Wednesday. Only 68 kitchens still operate, it said.
Israel has barred all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies from entering the Gaza Strip since March 2. It says the blockade is aimed at pressuring Hamas to release its remaining hostages and disarm.
Food security experts warned this week that Gaza will likely fall into famine unless Israel lifts the blockade and ends its military campaign. They found that one in five Palestinians in Gaza are already on the brink of starvation.
Is Putin leading Trump on?
President Donald Trump says he doesn’t think Russian President Vladimir Putin will go to Turkey for ceasefire talks with Ukraine unless he also goes.
“I don’t know if he would be there if I’m not there,” Trump said, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he was flying from Saudi Arabia to Qatar.
He noted that his schedule on Thursday is “all booked out” with a state visit in Qatar, set to include an engagement with U.S. troops in the region. Trump didn’t categorically rule out visiting Turkey, but said he planned to send Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his stead.
Trump also said he’ll know more in a few days if Putin is just leading him on on its openness to negotiations to end its war on Ukraine.
Asked if he believed Putin was just “tapping” him, as he suggested earlier this month, Trump said in response: “I’ll let you know in a few days.”
Trump's impressions of Syria's new leader: ‘Pretty amazing’
Trump praised Syria's new leader after their meeting in Saudi Arabia.
He’s a “young, attractive guy,” Trump said. “Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”
Trump also said he thought al-Sharaa has “got a real shot at holding it together.”
“I think he’s got the potential to do — he’s a real leader. He led a charge and he’s pretty amazing,” Trump said, adding that he believes al-Sharaa will eventually join the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel.
“I think they have to get themselves straightened up,” Trump says. “I told him, ‘I hope you’re going to join when it’s straightened out.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ But they have a lot of work to do.
No clue about stablecoin, Trump says
Trump says he “doesn’t know” how an Emirati investment firm chose a stablecoin launched by one of his businesses for a $2 billion investment.
“I don’t know anything about it,” Trump says when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One about the transaction.
A state-backed investment company in Abu Dhabi announced it had chosen USD, World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, to back a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Critics say that allows Trump family-aligned interests to essentially take a cut of each dollar invested. Trump on Thursday is set to travel to Abu Dhabi on the final leg of his Gulf states trip that has seen his business and official interests intersect.
Gaza's death toll from Israeli strikes rises to at least 60
The Gaza Health Ministry says that about 60 people were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza overnight and early on Wednesday morning.
In addition to strikes in Jabaliya, northern Gaza, that killed more than 50 people, including 22 children, additional strikes killed at least 10 people in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to the European Hospital.
Overnight in Jabaliya, rescue workers smashed through collapsed concrete slabs using hand tools, lit only by the light of cellphone cameras, to remove bodies of some of the children who were killed.
Iran unhappy with Trump's moves on Syria
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed displeasure at Trump’s announcement about the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria.
Araghchi, who is Iran’s nuclear negotiator, slammed Trump as having a “very deceitful viewpoint.”
“What he stated about the hope of regional nations for a progressive, flourishing path, is the same path that people of Iran decided through their revolution,” Araghchi said.
“It was the U.S. that blocked progress of Iranian nation through sanctions for more than 40 years as well as its pressures, military and nonmilitary threats,” he added.
Trump dives into Mideast crises in his speech to GCC leaders
Trump told GCC leaders in Riyadh that he wanted to secure a deal that would prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
He said he hoped for a “future of safety and dignity of the Palestinian people” but not with Gaza’s current leaders, Hamas, who he said “delight in raping, torturing and murdering innocent people.” He said his sanctions relief for Syria would “give them a fresh start.”
He told the room of regional leaders that the world was watching them “with envy” but added: “if we can simply stop the aggression from a small group of pretty bad actors.”
Trump also dove into U.S. politics, making sure to mention his victory in the 2024 election, which he called historic. He said the Biden administration “created havoc and bedlam.”
Photos show up of Trump's meeting with Syria's al-Sharaa
The photos show Syrian interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, shaking hands with the Saudi crown prince, with Trump standing behind them. The three leaders later posed for a photo, Trump smiling broadly. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had joined the gathering by phone.
The source of the photos was not immediately clear, though Syrian activists and others shared them and local Saudi-owned media began publishing them.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said later in a statement that Trump urged al-Sharaa to “do a great job for the Syrian people.”
He also asked him to diplomatically recognize Israel, “tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria” and help the U.S. stop any resurgence of the Islamic State group, as well as having Syrian government “assume responsibility” for detention centers holding IS militants.
For his part, al-Sharaa expressed "hope that Syria would serve as a critical link in facilitating trade between east and west, and invited American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas,” Leavitt wrote.
Netanyahu had asked Trump not to remove sanctions on Syria, Israeli official says
The Israeli prime minister made the request during his visit to Washington last month, according to the official. The official says the request was made out of concern that a cross-border attack similar to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault, could come from Syria.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the request with the media.
Israel fears that the new Syrian president and his Islamist past could pose a threat on its northern border.
Trump on Tuesday said he would ease sanctions on Syria and move to restore ties with its new leader. The move is just the latest disagreement between the U.S. and Israeli leaders who have differed on how to approach Iran and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, among other regional issues. Trump’s first term policies were overwhelmingly favorable to Israel.
— By Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel
Trump meets Syria's new leader, once imprisoned by US troops in Iraq
The meeting between Trump and Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa was the first such encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years.
It took place on the sidelines of Trump sitting with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Reporters were not allowed in to witness the stunning engagement.
It was a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the over 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family.
People across Syria cheered in the streets and shot off fireworks Tuesday night to celebrate after Trump announced he would move to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, hopeful their nation locked out of credit cards and global finance might rejoin the world’s economy when they need investment the most.
The Associated Press
