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.

Syria’s newly appointed interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for his first foreign trip since his rebel coalition ousted the longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad, saying his country seeks a real partnership with the Gulf kingdom.

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. Sharaa assumed power as transitional president last week,