Story by The Kenya Times
Sep 21, 2025
Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, an ex-Jihadist once known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is set to attend the 2025 United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The visit marks the first time a Syrian president has participated in the UN’s annual gathering since 1967.
Al-Sharaa, who once commanded jihadist factions linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS, assumed the interim presidency in early 2025 following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
His participation in this year’s UNGA underscores Damascus’s attempt to re-enter international diplomacy after years of isolation.
The 44-year-old leader will also engage in a high-profile dialogue hosted by the Middle East Institute (MEI) alongside Charles Lister, director of MEI’s Syria Initiative.
The event is framed as an opportunity to discuss Syria’s political future, regional stability, and reconstruction plans.
Controversy Over His Past
Al-Sharaa’s presence in New York has reignited memories of his militant past.
During the height of the Syrian conflict, he led factions of the al-Nusra Front, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, and was at one point on the US government’s “most wanted” list with a $10 million bounty on his head.
Captured by US forces in 2006 while planting explosives, he was imprisoned in facilities including Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca before being released years later.
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Syria’s Former al-Qaeda Chief Arrives in New York, Sits Down With Former CIA Director
by Dave DeCamp
Sep 22, 2025
Ahmed al-Sharaa also met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Syria’s de facto president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda leader, arrived in New York City on Sunday, where he will attend the UN General Assembly, making him the first Syrian leader to do so since 1967.
On Monday, Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, attended the Concordia Summit, where he sat down with Ret. US Army Gen. David Petraeus, who was the CIA Director from 2011-2012, when the US began a covert CIA campaign, known as Operation Timber Sycamore, to funnel weapons into Syria that ended up in the hands of the country’s al-Qaeda affiliate.
Sharaa had founded Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate, known as the al-Nusra Front, in 2012. Before that, he fought for al-Qaeda in Iraq and was imprisoned by US forces for several years, something Petraeus pointed out when he spoke with the Syrian leader.
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“The fact is, we were on different sides when I was commanding the surge in Iraq. You were, of course, detained by US forces for some five years, including, again, when I was the four-star there. And here you are now as the president of Syria, which your forces liberated from the murderous Bashar al-Assad regime, to participate in your first UN General Assembly,” Petraeus said.
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