Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the United States was communicating directly with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the dominant rebel faction, despite its designation as a terrorist group.

At Damascus’ international airport, the new head of security — one of the rebels who marched across Syria to the capital — arrived with his team. The few maintenance workers who showed up for work huddled around Maj Hamza al-Ahmed,

The U.S. has had direct talks with the rebel group that took power in Syria, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday in Jordan, as he wrapped up a Middle East trip focused on the way forward after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.