Trump ends Syria sanctions, orders terror designation review

US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order to dismantle the US sanctions program on Syria, ending the Middle Eastern country’s isolation from the international financial system.

The sanctions program, which has been in place since 2004, imposed far-reaching sanctions on Syria that affected most state institutions, including the central bank.

“This is in an effort to promote and support the country’s path to stability and peace,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Sanctions against Assad remain in place

Leavitt added that the move will enable the US to maintain sanctions on Syria’s former president, Bashar Assad, and his associates, as well as on human rights abusers, drug traffickers, individuals involved in chemical weapons activities, the Islamic State, ISIS affiliates, and Iranian proxies.

Trump’s order also instructs the US State Department to review the designation of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a foreign terrorist organization. The Syrian transitional government has largely emerged from this group.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also to review Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, as well as that of Syrian transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa as a terrorist. 

Syria welcomes Trump’s move

Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shibani said the US move marked a “major turning point,” according to a post by the minister on social media platform X.

“With the lifting of this major obstacle to economic recovery, the long-awaited doors are opening for reconstruction and development” as are the conditions “for the dignified return of displaced Syrians to their homeland,” he wrote on X.

Trump had already exempted Syria from most of the sanctions in May in response to appeals from Saudi Arabia and Turkey. 

In December, Assad was ousted in a swift offensive led by Islamist rebels under the command of al-Sharaa. Since then, Syria has taken steps to rebuild its international ties.