Trump's decision to reverse decades of US policy on Syria within just a few hours in Riyadh reflects the weight of influence that Middle Eastern leaders can have on Trump's decision-making process

Trump's announcement and Rubio's subsequent statement offered no clear roadmap for unwinding Syria sanctions layered under multiple authorities

Although he once deemed Syria unimportant, Trump now seems to realise how key it is to Arab states, whose cooperation he greatly values

On 18 May 1965, Eliyahu Cohen, an Egyptian Jew born in Alexandria, was hanged for espionage in Damascus after posing as a Muslim Arab merchant from Argentina

Promising a new golden age, neo-Umayyadism resonates with a broad spectrum of Syria's Sunni Arabs, particularly those from small towns and suburbs that had been disenfranchised under the Assad regime

Trump has lifted US sanctions, offering Syria a "chance at greatness". Despite lingering hurdles, for the first time in a long time, there is an electric sense of hope in the country.

It could very well boost Israel's security as well as that of everyone else in the region

Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, will meet Donald Trump in Riyadh today, making him the first Syrian leader to meet with a US president since Clinton's meeting with Hafez al-Assad in 2000

Al-Sharaa met Trump today in Riyadh, after the US president lifted sanctions on Syria on Tuesday, offering it "a chance at greatness". But who is the Syrian leader thrust into the global spotlight?

Without reforms, Sham Cash could become just another tool to consolidate economic and political control into the hands of a select few