Sharaa, met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Sunday in his first foreign trip as Syrian leader, in a sign of the major shifts under way in regional alliances.

Julani was born in Saudi Arabia, later lived in Damascus, and joined al-Qaeda before becoming the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria.

Syria’s interim president has made his first trip abroad, traveling to Saudi Arabia in a move likely trying to signal Damascus’ shift away from Iran as its main regional ally.