Al-Sharaa Accepts What Assad Rejected
By Jamal Wakim
On Saturday, April 26, 2025, Syria's transitional government formally responded halfway to American conditions for easing sanctions. Syrian interim Prime Minister Ahmad Al-Sharaa complied with nearly all of Washington's demands, chiefly: monitoring the activities of Palestinian organizations and promising that Syria would never again serve as a platform for threats to American or Western interests. Notably, the government stated that Syria “will pose no threat to any ‘country’, including ‘Israel’.”
This came after Al-Sharaa was visited by two senior members of the US Congress—Cory Mills, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the chair of the House Armed Services Committee—who were in Syria to make overtures toward lifting Western sanctions and opening the door to peace between Syria and “Israel”. Following the meeting, Mills stated: “I am cautiously optimistic and committed to maintaining an open dialogue with Al-Sharaa.”
Mills told Western media that he would deliver Al-Sharaa’s message to President Donald Trump and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. He also made it clear to the Syrian premier that “offering security assurances to ‘Israel’ is a prerequisite for lifting American sanctions on Damascus.”
Al-Sharaa also pledged to cooperate with Washington against the terror group ISIS. However, he expressed reservations regarding the US demand to expel foreign fighters who fought on behalf of opposition forces during the civil war against President Bashar al-Assad. In his message to Trump, Al-Sharaa noted that “the issue of foreign fighters was discussed previously with the former US envoy, but broader consultations are needed.” He also reiterated that “no armed groups operating outside the authority of the state will be accepted.” The message further stated that Syria would establish a liaison office in the Foreign Ministry to assist in locating missing American journalist Austin Tice.
A closer reading of Al-Sharaa’s message suggests that Syria’s interim president has essentially conceded to all the demands made by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to President Assad in 2003, following the US occupation of Iraq. During his visit to Damascus, Powell had urged Assad to cut ties with Iran, stop supporting Lebanese and Palestinian resistance to “Israel,” and close the offices of Palestinian factions in Syria. Powell warned that failure to comply would lead to US efforts to topple Assad’s regime. Assad rejected the ultimatum, saying these conditions could only be enforced if US troops in Iraq managed to reach Damascus.
Assad’s refusal paved the way for a two-decade US-led campaign against Syria. This included Syria’s forced withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005, the 2006 war between “Israel” and Lebanon, and the full-scale war launched against Syria in 2011—all part of the West’s long struggle to overthrow Assad.
After twenty years of resistance, Syria was finally conquered in December 2024 by a Western-led coalition that included Turkey, most Arab governments, and radical Islamist groups that mobilized hundreds of thousands of fighters. The result was the toppling of Assad’s regime and the rise of a Western-backed government—one that has now embraced the very concessions Assad refused two decades ago, such as closing Palestinian faction offices and cutting support for anti-‘Israel’ resistance groups, under the justification that Syria “will not be a source of threat to anyone, including ‘Israel’.”
