US President, Donald Trump has signed an executive order to lift sanctions against Syria.
The move is likely to unlock investments in the country more than six months after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
The US Treasury said in a statement that Trump’s decree offers sanction relief to “entities critical to Syria’s development, the operation of its government, and the rebuilding of the country’s social fabric.”
In a statement, Trump stressed that the US is committed to supporting a Syria that is “stable, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbours.”
“A united Syria that does not offer a safe haven for terrorist organisations and ensures the security of its religious and ethnic minorities will support regional security and prosperity.”
Donald Trump
The Syrian government has been under heavy US financial penalties that predate the outbreak of the civil war in the country in 2011.
The sprawling sanction programme, which included provisions related to the former government’s human rights abuses, has derailed reconstruction efforts in the country.
It has also contributed to driving the Syrian economy under al-Assad to the verge of collapse.
Trump promised sanctions relief for Syria during his visit to the Middle East in May.
Democratic US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar had partnered with Republican lawmaker Anna Paulina Luna to introduce earlier this week a bill that would legislatively lift sanctions on Syria to offer long-term relief.
However, US administration said that Syria-related sanctions against al-Assad and his associates, ISIL (ISIS) and Iran and its allies will remain in place.
“I find that additional steps must be taken to ensure meaningful accountability for perpetrators of war crimes, human rights violations and abuses, and the proliferation of narcotics trafficking networks in and in relation to Syria during the former regime of Bashar al-Assad and by those associated with it.”
Donald Trump
While the US Treasury said that it already removed 518 Syrian individuals and entities from its list of sanctions, some Syria penalties may not be revoked immediately.
For example, Trump directs US agencies to determine whether the conditions are met to remove sanctions imposed under the Caesar Act, which enabled heavy penalties against the Syrian economy for alleged war crimes against civilians.
Terrorist Designation Review
As part of Trump’s order, the US President ordered Secretary of State, Marco Rubio to review the designation of interim Syrian President, Ahmed al-Sharaa as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.”
Moreover, Trump ordered a review of the status of al-Sharaa’s group, al-Nusra Front – now Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – as a designated “foreign terrorist” organisation.
Al-Nusra was al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, but al-Sharaa severed ties with the group in 2016.
Al-Nusra later became known as Jabhat Fath al-Sham before merging with other rebel groups as HTS.
Al-Sharaa was the de facto leader of a rebel enclave in Idlib in northwest Syria for years before leading the offensive that overthrew al-Assad in December 2024.
Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May and praised the Syrian President as “attractive” and “tough.”
The interim Syrian President – who was previously known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Julani – has promised inclusive governance to allay concerns about his past ties to al-Qaeda.
However, violence and kidnappings against members of al-Assad’s Alawite sect by former rebel fighters over the past months have raised concerns among some rights advocates.
Al-Sharaa has also pledged that Syria would not pose a threat to its neighbours, including Israel, which has been advancing in Syrian territory beyond the occupied Golan Heights and regularly bombing the country.
Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad Al Shaibani welcomed Trump’s decision in a post on X, saying that it “will open the door of long-awaited reconstruction and development.”
He added that it will lift the obstacle against economic recovery and open the country to the international community.
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