Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives to address the 80th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, US, Sept. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

US President Donald Trump plans to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday at a press briefing.

Since seizing power from Bashar al-Assad last December, Sharaa has made a series of foreign trips as his transitional government seeks to re-establish Syria’s ties with world powers that had shunned Damascus during Assad’s rule.

Trump has sought good relations with al-Sharaa. In June he revoked most US sanctions against Syria, and Trump met with the Syrian leader when he visited Saudi Arabia last May.

“When the president was in the Middle East, he made the historic decision to lift sanctions on Syria to give them a real chance at peace and I think the administration, we’ve seen good progress on that front under their new leadership,” she said.

US Air Force F-35 Lightning IIs fly side by side with Republic of Korea Air Force F-35s as part of a bilateral exercise over the Yellow Sea, Republic of Korea, July 12, 2022. Photo: US Air Force/Senior Airman Trevor Gordnier/Handout via REUTERS

The Trump administration is considering a Saudi Arabian request to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets, a potential multi-billion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, two sources familiar with the matter said.

A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of maintaining Israel’s “qualitative military edge.”

Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal earlier this year to US President Donald Trump and has long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s fighter, one of the people and a US official said. The Pentagon is now weighing a potential sale of 48 of the advanced aircraft, the US official and the person familiar with the talks told Reuters. The size of the request and its status have not been previously reported.

The US official and a second US official, who acknowledged the weapons deal was moving through the system, said no final decision has been made and several more steps are needed before the ultimate nod, including further approvals at the Cabinet level, sign-off from Trump and notification of Congress.

The Pentagon‘s policy department worked on the potential transaction for months, and the case has now progressed to the secretary level within the Defense Department, according to one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon, White House, and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Lockheed Martin spokesperson said military sales are government-to-government transactions and the matter is best addressed by Washington.

Washington weighs weapons sales to the Middle East in a way that ensures Israel maintains a “qualitative military edge.” This guarantees that Israel gets more advanced US weapons than regional Arab states.

The F-35, built with stealth technology that allows it to evade enemy detection, is considered the world’s most advanced fighter jet. Israel has operated the aircraft for nearly a decade, building multiple squadrons, and remains the only Middle Eastern country to possess the weapons system.

Saudi Arabia, the largest customer for US arms, has sought the fighter for years as it looks to modernize its air force and counter regional threats, particularly from Iran. The kingdom’s renewed push for what would constitute two squadrons comes as the Trump administration has signaled openness to deepening defense cooperation with Riyadh. The Saudi Air Force flies a mix of fighter aircraft including Boeing F-15s, European Tornados and Typhoons.

The F-35 issue has also been intertwined with broader diplomatic efforts. The Biden administration previously explored providing F-35s to Saudi Arabia as part of a comprehensive deal that would have included Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel, though those efforts ultimately stalled.

Trump has made arms sales to Saudi Arabia a priority since returning to office. In May, the United States agreed to sell the kingdom an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, which the White House called “the largest defense cooperation agreement” Washington has ever done.

Congressional scrutiny could also pose challenges to any F-35 sale. Lawmakers previously questioned arms deals with Riyadh following the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and some members of Congress remain wary of deepening military cooperation with the kingdom.

The potential sale also comes as Saudi Arabia pursues ambitious economic and military modernization plans under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 agenda. The kingdom has sought to diversify its defense partnerships in recent years while maintaining its decades-long security relationship with Washington.

Iranians take to the streets during nationwide rallies on Nov. 4, 2025, marking the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy by waving flags and chanting “death to America” and “death to Israel.” Photo: Screenshot

Nearly half a century after Iranian students stormed and took over the US embassy in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to mark the anniversary with rallies across the capital and hundreds of cities nationwide, celebrating what officials describe as their “resistance against the West.”

On Tuesday, thousands of Iranians took part in demonstrations commemorating the 46th anniversary of the US embassy takeover in 1979.

Framed as a show of “national unity,” participants condemned “US and Israeli aggressions” against the Islamist regime — including the 12-day war with Israel in June, which Washington joined by targeting key Iranian nuclear sites after multiple rounds of negotiations failed to yield any results.

During the demonstrations, people were seen waving Iranian flags and holding posters of those killed in US and Israeli attacks, while chanting slogans including “death to America” and “death to Israel.”

Iran celebrates victory over Western imperialism

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Tehran and 900+ cities nationwide to mark the 46th anniversary of the 1979 US Embassy takeover

The 1979 revolution ended both Western and Israeli influence in Iran by deposing… pic.twitter.com/UB03SanUFU

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) November 4, 2025

Every year, the Iranian regime marks Nov. 4 as the “National Day of Fight Against Global Arrogance,” commemorating the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran by radical students — followers of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

For 444 days, 52 US embassy staff members were held hostage, subjected to abuse, torture, and mock executions.

On November 4, 1979, followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran; the Iranians held more than 50 Americans hostage for 444 days. Listen to former American hostages tell their story. pic.twitter.com/gaO6tojGzt

— Department of State (@StateDept) November 4, 2020

According to Iranian state media, government officials praised Tuesday’s events as a tribute to the students and youth who led the “revolution,” portraying them as a key symbol of “the Islamic Republic’s opposition to global hegemony.”

They also reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to resisting “US and Israeli dominance,” supporting global movements against “foreign hegemony” and defending Palestinian rights.

During a speech in the legislature, Iranian Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Nikzad described the US embassy takeover as a reflection “of years of oppression and humiliation inflicted on the Iranian people.”

“Today marks the anniversary of the revolutionary action of students in taking over the Den of Espionage,” Nikzad said, using the regime’s name for the former US embassy compound.

He also said the differences between Washington and Tehran are deep-rooted, fundamental, and cannot be resolved through negotiations — rejecting renewed calls for Iran to resume talks with Western powers over its nuclear program.

Across the country, demonstrators denounced the US and Israel with speeches and religious chants, while symbolic displays of Iranian missiles and centrifuges to enrich uranium for nuclear fuel were showcased along the parade routes.

There were also exhibitions showcasing decades of “Western and Israeli crimes,” along with the burning of US and Israeli flags and a symbolic trial of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a statement, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a military force and internationally designated terrorist organization, condemned recent US behavior toward the country, saying it “demonstrated that the pattern of intervention, pressure, deception, and threats remains a persistent strategy against the Iranian nation and its independent political establishment.”

“The National Student Day is a reminder of the criminal nature of the United States, showing that faithful and revolutionary Iranian people will never surrender to domination and deception by global arrogance,” the IRGC continued. 

“The takeover of the Den of Espionage embodies a strategic choice between the path of resistance, dignity, and independence versus that of compromise, submission, and surrender,” the IRGC stated.