Former U.S. deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland said Tuesday on Newsmax that key Middle East leaders have encouraged President Donald Trump to take a “calculated risk” on Syria’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, arguing the move could reshape regional security.

McFarland told “Rob Schmitt Tonight” that leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf states have urged the president to support al-Sharaa. McFarland said those leaders believe al-Sharaa could pivot Damascus away from Iran and Russia and toward regional stability.

“You know, here’s the thing,” McFarland said. “When President Trump went to the Middle East, his first foreign trip in the second term, he went to the Saudis, he went to UAE, and he talked to them, and they convinced him. They said, ‘Look, take a chance on this guy. You took a chance on us eight years ago. The younger leaders, who are now heavily, you know, in power in all their countries, they’ve gone to the Abraham Accords.'”

Read more at Newsmax© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.