US Treasury says it eliminated 518 Syrian people and entities from its record of sanctions after president’s decree.
Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has signed an govt order to dismantle an online of sanctions in opposition to Syria, a transfer that can doubtless unlock investments within the nation greater than six months after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
Trump’s decree on Monday affords sanction reduction to “entities essential to Syria’s growth, the operation of its authorities, and the rebuilding of the nation’s social cloth”, the US Treasury stated in a press release.
The Syrian authorities has been beneath heavy US monetary penalties that predate the outbreak of the civil struggle within the nation in 2011.
The sprawling sanction programme, which included provisions associated to the previous authorities’s human rights abuses, has derailed reconstruction efforts within the nation. It has additionally contributed to driving the Syrian financial system beneath al-Assad to the breaking point.
Trump promised sanctions reduction for Syria throughout his go to to the Center East in Might.
“The US is dedicated to supporting a Syria that’s secure, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbours,” the US president stated in a press release on Monday.
“A united Syria that doesn’t supply a protected haven for terrorist organisations and ensures the safety of its spiritual and ethnic minorities will help regional safety and prosperity.”
The US administration stated Syria-related sanctions in opposition to al-Assad and his associates, ISIL (ISIS) and Iran and its allies will stay in place.
Whereas the US Treasury stated it already eliminated 518 Syrian people and entities from its record of sanctions, some Syria penalties might not be revoked instantly.
For instance, Trump directs US businesses to find out whether or not the circumstances are met to take away sanctions imposed beneath the Caesar Act, which enabled heavy penalties in opposition to the Syrian financial system for alleged struggle crimes in opposition to civilians.
Democratic US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar had partnered with Republican lawmaker Anna Paulina Luna to introduce earlier this week a invoice that may legislatively elevate sanctions on Syria to supply long-term reduction.
Actual reduction for the Syrian individuals requires repealing sure legal guidelines.
My invoice with @RepLuna completely repeals the sanctions and provides the post-Assad Syria a combating probability. https://t.co/gExbLiKS7z
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) June 30, 2025
As a part of Trump’s order, the US president ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to evaluation the designation of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as a “Specifically Designated World Terrorist”.
Furthermore, the US president ordered a evaluation of the standing of al-Sharaa’s group, al-Nusra Entrance – now Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – as a chosen “overseas terrorist” organisation. Al-Nusra was al-Qaeda’s department in Syria, however al-Sharaa severed ties with the group in 2016.
Al-Nusra later grew to become generally known as Jabhat Fath al-Sham earlier than merging with different insurgent teams as HTS.
Al-Sharaa was the de facto chief of a insurgent enclave in Idlib in northwest Syria for years earlier than main the offensive that overthrew al-Assad in December 2024.
Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in Might and praised the Syrian president as “engaging” and “powerful”.
The interim Syrian president – who was beforehand identified by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Julani – has promised inclusive governance to allay issues about his previous ties to al-Qaeda.
However violence and kidnappings in opposition to members of al-Assad’s Alawite sect by former insurgent fighters over the previous months have raised issues amongst some rights advocates.
Al-Sharaa has additionally pledged that Syria wouldn’t pose a risk to its neighbours, together with Israel, which has been advancing in Syrian territory past the occupied Golan Heights and usually bombing the nation.
