Trump admin updates: Vance meets with Zelenskyy in Rome

The White House said President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also attended the meeting, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joining by phone, the White House readout said.

Trump told Sharaa -- who took power in December after a coalition of rebel groups toppled former President Bashar al-Assad -- that he has "a tremendous opportunity to do something historic in his country" following the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria, the readout said.

Their meeting was the first between American and Syrian heads of state since 2000, when President Bill Clinton met President Hafez al-Assad -- Bashar's father -- in Geneva, Switzerland. Syria has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. since 1979.

Tuesday's meeting is a coup for Sharaa. Until late December, he was still subject to a U.S. $10 million bounty due to his leadership of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Islamist militant group, which remains a designated terrorist organization in the U.S. HTS was at the forefront of the rebel offensive that forced Assad to cede power and flee to Russia.

Trump urged Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel via the Abraham Accords series of agreements that began during Trump's first term, eject all foreign terrorists -- including Palestinian groups -- from Syria, assist in preventing the regional resurgence of ISIS and assume responsibility for all ISIS detentions centers in the northeast of the country.

Sharaa thanked the other leaders for the meeting and also "recognized the significant opportunity presented by the Iranians leaving Syria, as well as shared U.S.-Syrian interests in countering terrorism and eliminating chemical weapons," the White House said.

"Sharaa concluded with his hope that Syria would serve as a critical link in facilitating trade between east and west, and invited American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas," the White House said. The Russia-Ukraine war and the war in Gaza were also discussed, it added.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a photo on X showing Trump, Sharaa and Salman together.

-ABC News' Alex Ederson and Michelle Stoddart

President Donald Trump is expected to meet on Wednesday with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, according to the White House.

"The President will do a pull aside with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa ahead of the GCC Summit this morning," the White House said, using an acronym for the Gulf Cooperation Council summit, which is underway in Saudi Arabia.

The Syrian president, a former rebel leader, came to power as the country’s interim leader after the fall of President Bashar Assad in December. He was appointed president in January.

-ABC News’ Alex Ederson

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired two of the top members of the National Intelligence Council, a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) confirmed to ABC News.

Acting Chair Mike Collins of the National Intelligence Council (NIC) and Deputy Chair Maria Langan-Riekhof were both fired.

In addition, Gabbard is transferring the National Intelligence Council from its current placement under the CIA to her office -- a move first reported by Fox News.

Collins served 28 years in the intelligence community, beginning as a career analyst before serving as chief of staff to the CIA’s deputy director and later as the CIA's chief strategy officer.

Langan-Riekhof was appointed in 2019 under the Trump administration as director of the Strategic Futures Group at the NIC. She spent 33 years in the intelligence community, serving in both the CIA and NIC. She was honored as one of the DNI’s "Exceptional Analysts" in 2008-09.

An ODNI spokesperson told ABC News on Tuesday, "The Director is working alongside President Trump to end the weaponization and politicization of the Intelligence Community."

Last month, Gabbard announced on social media she had “referred two intelligence community LEAKS to the Department of Justice for criminal referral, with a third criminal referral on its way, which includes the recent illegal leak to the Washington Post.”

Gabbard also warned the intelligence community that alleged leakers would “be held accountable under the full force of the law.”

Gabbard said in April that an additional 11 people remain under investigation.

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson

President Donald Trump is attempting to defuse criticism of his administration's acceptance of a luxury jet donated by the Qatari government. He has taken to social media to air his grievances.

In a lengthy social media post, the president claims Qatar will donate the Boeing 747 to the United States Air Force as a temporary Air Force One until a new aircraft is delivered.

"The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME!" Trump wrote. "It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive."

Trump says that the gift will save taxpayers millions of dollars, as it won't cost anything, and that accepting it is beneficial and a prudent decision for the country.

"Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump wrote.

But as ABC News reported, the U.S. Air Force will cover the cost to retrofit the plane, according to sources familiar with the proposed arrangement.

The plane will initially be transferred to the U.S. Air Force, which will modify the 13-year-old aircraft to meet the U.S. military specifications required for any aircraft used to transport the president, multiple sources familiar with the proposed arrangement said.

The plane will then be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation no later than Jan. 1, 2029, and the U.S. Air Force will pay for any costs related to its transfer, the sources told ABC News.

-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh and Katherine Faulders