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president Donald Trump On Monday afternoon, he signed an executive order to formally lift all Syrian sanctions.
“The United States is committed to supporting Syria in stable, unified and peace with itself and its neighbors,” the order said, directing the state, commerce and the Treasury to ease sanctions and abandon export controls.
“This is an effort to promote and support the country’s path to stability and peace. The order removes Syrian sanctions while maintaining sanctions on former President Assad or his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, chemical weapons activities, people associated with ISIS and its affiliates, and Iranian proxies.
Trump is “committed to being stable and united and supporting itself and its neighbors and peaceful Syria,” Leavitt said.
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Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharraa in Saudi Arabia last month. (AP)
Trump’s envoy to Syria, Ambassador Tom Barack called the new order a “boring, detailed, unbearable process” that unravels the sanctions that have existed for decades in the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who oversees the nation’s state for over a decade.
Brad Smith, the Treasury Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Information, said the sanctions will remain “in the right case” that involves Assad, his associates and other unstable local officials.
Smith said Assad’s collapse represents a “new beginning” for the Syrian people, and Trump said he “deemed our sanctions “not to be in the way of a brighter future for the country.”
However, he warned: “The United States will remain vigilant when our interests and safety are threatened, and the Treasury will not hesitate to use authorities to protect the US and the international financial system.”
Some sanctions still need to be lifted by Congress, while others date back to 1979 when Syria was designated as a national sponsor of terrorism. The administration has not yet lifted its designation.
Trump met last month Syria’s new interim leaderAhmed al-Sharaa, visiting the Middle East.
Syrian Ahmed Alshara meets President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in this handout, released on May 14, 2025. (Saudi Arabian press/handouts via Reuters)
With a blessing of $10 million in his head, the turnaround of Syrian leaders has been astounding since sitting with the US president.
Al-Sharaa’s group, Heiat Taharil al-Sham (HTS), was a Syrian extremist organization established in March as a derivative of al-Qaeda, overthrew Assad.
The US imposed sanctions on Syria for years under Bashar al-Assad’s regime. (Reuters)
Alshara was working hard for his relationship with Washington Relief of sanctions: He built a Trump Tower in Damascus and offered access to Israel and Detante, as well as Syrian oil and gas. He worked to soften the image of the HTS and promised an inclusive governance structure.
US sanctions include financial penalties for foreigners or companies that provided serious support to the Syrian government and banned anyone in the United States from trading in Syrian entities that include oil and gas. Syrian banks have also been effectively blocked from the global financial system.
The new order is as Israeli and Syrian officials are engaged in back-channel consultations on potential security and normalization transactions.
Israel and Syria have long been enemies, and some Israeli officials worry that lifting all sanctions on Syria means pressure to pressure to normalize relations with Israel.
At that point, an official from a senior government shot back: “We have consistently said that it’s not a state-building. It’s Syria’s interest to lean towards Israel.”
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“The president tore the sanctions without preconditions,” the official said. “Leverage is not something we want to do.”
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza complicates any movement regarding the normalization trade between Israel and its neighbors. However, officials predicted that “there will be peace in Gaza.”
