Trump lifts sanctions on Syria, to 'say hello' to new Syrian leader in Riyadh tomorrow

Tehran has repeatedly denied accusations of fomenting Middle East instability.

US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the lifting of sanctions on Syria, a move sought by the new leader whom he plans to see in Riyadh.

On a state visit to Saudi Arabia primarily aimed at securing billions of dollars of investment, the billionaire president took aim both at the US left and right who he said had intervened in the region in the guise of "nation builders" but "wrecked far more nations than they built".

Trump renewed his offer for a better US relationship with longtime nemesis Iran, although he warned the nation's rulers of consequences if ongoing talks with his administration failed.

In his most significant announcement, Trump said he would end sweeping US sanctions on Syria, in place for decades and ramped up dramatically during the iron-fisted rule of Assad, who was overthrown by Islamist-led forces in December.

"I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness," Trump said in a speech in Riyadh.

"The sanctions were brutal and crippling," he said. "But now it's their time to shine."

Trump plans to meet at least briefly Wednesday with Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa while in Riyadh, reported news agency AFP quoting a US official said.

"The president agreed to say hello to the Syrian president while in Saudi Arabia tomorrow," the White House official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The meeting comes despite misgivings about the direction of Syria from US ally Israel, which has unleashed military strikes on its neighbour both before and after the December fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Sharaa, who headed an Islamist-led coalition that toppled Assad in December, has been pushing for the removal of US sanctions, a step that Trump has said he is considering.