US President, Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order terminating a US sanctions program on Syria, a move that opens the door for the country to rejoin the international financial system and begin its post-war reconstruction.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed the action in a briefing, stating the US would continue sanctions targeting Syria’s ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, along with his associates, human rights violators, drug traffickers, those involved with chemical weapons, ISIS and its affiliates, and Iran-backed proxies.
Assad was removed from power in December during a rapid offensive led by Islamist-backed rebels. Since then, Syria has begun restoring ties with the global community.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani welcomed the US decision, calling it a chance for national revival. “Trump’s termination of the Syria sanctions program would ‘open door of long-awaited reconstruction and development,’” he said in a statement posted on social platform X. “[It] will lift the obstacle against economic recovery and open the country to the international community.”
The shift in US policy began in May when Trump met with Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh.
During the meeting, Trump made a surprise announcement that sanctions would be lifted—paving the way for this formal action.
According to US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack, “Syria needs to be given a chance, and that’s what’s happened.” He described the move as “the culmination of a very tedious, detailed, excruciating process of, how do you unwrap these sanctions.”
The White House said the executive order directs the Secretary of State to reassess Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, as well as the terrorist classification of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a rebel faction led by President Sharaa that has links to al Qaeda.
Further monitoring will continue on Syria’s progress toward key US priorities, including “taking concrete steps toward normalizing ties with Israel, addressing foreign terrorists, deporting Palestinian terrorists and banning Palestinian terrorist groups,” according to the White House.
(Reuters)
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