That pairing, Sept. 23 -- NEW YORK - Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday as the first Syrian leader to do so in six decades. His delegation noted the milestone publicly. By the afternoon, he was sitting across from Donald Trump, being urged to recognize Israel and join the Abraham Accords - the same country whose aircraft have been conducting strikes on Syrian territory since the Iran war began in late February.

progress on an Iran deal and the expansion of regional normalization with Israel.

The room was dense with significance. Attending were Jordan's King Abdullah II, Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mo...