US Treasury says it eliminated 518 Syrian people and entities from its listing of sanctions after president’s decree.
Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has signed an govt order to dismantle an internet of sanctions towards Syria, a transfer that may 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 material”, the US Treasury mentioned in a press release.
The Syrian authorities has been below heavy US monetary penalties that predate the outbreak of the civil warfare 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 below al-Assad to the snapping point.
Trump promised sanctions reduction for Syria throughout his go to to the Center East in Might.
“America is dedicated to supporting a Syria that’s secure, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbours,” the US president mentioned in a press release on Monday.
“A united Syria that doesn’t provide a secure haven for terrorist organisations and ensures the safety of its spiritual and ethnic minorities will assist regional safety and prosperity.”
The US administration mentioned Syria-related sanctions towards al-Assad and his associates, ISIL (ISIS) and Iran and its allies will stay in place.
Whereas the US Treasury mentioned it already eliminated 518 Syrian people and entities from its listing of sanctions, some Syria penalties might not be revoked instantly.
For instance, Trump directs US businesses to find out whether or not the situations are met to take away sanctions imposed below the Caesar Act, which enabled heavy penalties towards the Syrian financial system for alleged warfare crimes towards 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 offers the post-Assad Syria a preventing 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 International 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 “international terrorist” organisation. Al-Nusra was al-Qaeda’s department in Syria, however al-Sharaa severed ties with the group in 2016.
Al-Nusra later turned referred to 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 “enticing” and “powerful”.
The interim Syrian president – who was beforehand recognized 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 towards 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 menace to its neighbours, together with Israel, which has been advancing in Syrian territory past the occupied Golan Heights and often bombing the nation.
