Syria’s newly appointed interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for his first foreign trip since his rebel coalition ousted longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Syria's interim president made his first trip abroad Sunday, traveling to Saudi Arabia in a move likely trying to signal Damascus' shift away from Iran as its main regional ally. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once aligned with al-Qaida,

Saudi Arabia is pushing world governments to lift international sanctions on Damascus as it looks to shape the future of a country once firmly under Tehran’s influence.