Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.
Souhire Medini is a 2024-25 Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute, currently in residence from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics. He is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.
Brief Analysis
Join us for a live webcast as scholars examine the potential future course of U.S. policy toward Syria following President Trump's meeting with that country's interim president Sharaa during his recent Gulf trip. Watch live starting at 11:00 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
The ripples from this week’s Gulf trip are producing a sea change in U.S. policy toward Syria, with President Trump meeting President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh and announcing the suspension of U.S. sanctions toward the country. In return, he urged Syria’s transitional government to take several important steps: sign the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel; eject foreign fighters; deport Palestinian terrorists; prevent an Islamic State resurgence; and secure detention facilities housing IS detainees. Yet maintaining the current wave of momentum will be difficult unless the U.S. government quickly articulates concrete steps and coordinates with allies.
To elaborate on how best to seize this moment of opportunity, The Washington Institute is pleased to announce a virtual Policy Forum moderated by Director of Research Dana Stroul and featuring four top experts on the issues raised by the president:
Matthew Levitt, the Institute’s Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow, director of its Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, and author of its recent report Navigating the Syria Sanctions Conundrum.
Devorah Margolin, the Institute’s Blumenstein-Rosenbloom Senior Fellow and host of the “Hope for al-Hol?” episode of its “Syria Breakdown” video series.
Souhire Medini, a visiting fellow at the Institute in residence from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
David Schenker, the Institute’s Taube Senior Fellow, director of its Rubin Program on Arab Politics, and former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs during the first Trump administration.
The Policy Forum series is made possible through the generosity of the Florence and Robert Kaufman Family.
