(DCNF)—Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa deflected responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks during a Fox News interview on Monday.

Nearly 3,000 people died across New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa. during the 9/11 attacks, according to the Pew Research Center. When asked directly on “Special Report with Bret Baier” if he regrets the attack, al-Sharaa distanced himself entirely from the event.

“I was only 19 years old, so I was a very young person, and I didn’t have any decision-making power at that time, and I don’t have anything to do with it,” al-Sharaa said. “And al-Qaeda was not present right then in my area. So you’re speaking to the wrong person about this subject.”

The Syrian leader then shifted the conversation.

“We mourn for every civilian that got killed, and we know that people suffer from the war, especially civilians who pay the price, a hefty price for the war,” al-Sharaa said.

President Donald Trump hosted al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, welcoming the former al-Qaeda member who once fought U.S. forces in Iraq and served time in Abu Ghraib prison. The U.S. government removed al-Sharaa from its terror list just days before his meeting with Trump, according to CBS News.

Al-Sharaa, who led a rebel coalition that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 while heading the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has since recast himself as a pro-Western reformer. Legacy media outlets have described his government as “moderate” compared to Assad’s rule.

The visit marks the first time a Syrian head of state has entered the White House since Syria gained independence in 1946, NPR reported. Trump, during a speech in Saudi Arabia, said in May that he would lift U.S. sanctions on Syria.

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