US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement to lift all sanctions on Syria triggered confusion within his own administration while offering hope for economic recovery in the war-torn nation.
Speaking at a high-profile investment forum in Riyadh on Tuesday, Trump declared, “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” drawing a standing ovation from business leaders including Elon Musk, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
As per the New York Times, Trump’s decision followed consultations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
However, the move caught senior officials at both the treasury and state departments off guard, according to Reuters. No prior directives had been sent to the agencies responsible for sanctions enforcement, leaving them scrambling to interpret and implement the president’s decision.
“This is something that had been discussed, worked on, options considered for many weeks,” said state department spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Thursday, adding the administration would implement what the president had announced.
However, one US official was quoted by Reuters as saying, “Everyone is trying to figure out how to implement it.”
Some preparations had been in motion, with memos drafted for potential relief following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December. Assad was overthrown after rebel forces led by Ahmad al-Sharaa captured Damascus, ending a brutal 13-year civil war.
Sharaa,who was once a wanted terrorist for the US and is now Syria’s interim president, has since pressed Washington to ease the sanctions that have crippled efforts to rebuild Syria’s economy and health-care system.
The sweeping sanctions, some in place since 1979, include those under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act , enacted in 2019 and extended last year. The law allows the president to waive penalties on national security grounds, which could be a path the administration takes.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio hinted that “initial waivers” may be issued to permit aid flows and business engagement.
Despite the president’s public declaration, the process of unwinding decades of layered sanctions is expected to be slow and complex. “Removing sanctions is rarely straightforward,” said Edward Fishman, a former US official, noting that reversing statutes like the Caesar Act could take months and require congressional approval.
According to Reuters, Trump has asked Syria to meet specific conditions in exchange for relief, including expelling foreign terrorists, deporting “Palestinian terrorists,” and cooperating with the US to prevent an ISIS resurgence.
Regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, both US allies, have backed the shift. Riyadh, which aims to bring Syria out of Iran’s shadow, has pledged aid and even offered to pay off some of Syria’s debt, actions that previously risked violating US sanctions.
Syria’s foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani welcomed the decision as “a new start”, while former US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford was quoted by the BBC as saying, “Removing the sanctions... is absolutely vital” to allow investment and humanitarian support into the country.
During the Riyadh visit, Trump also finalised a record $142 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia and announced that future Saudi investments could surpass $1 trillion, spanning AI, infrastructure, and energy.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also confirmed the sale of over 18,000 AI chips to a Saudi firm.
Speaking at a high-profile investment forum in Riyadh on Tuesday, Trump declared, “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” drawing a standing ovation from business leaders including Elon Musk, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
As per the New York Times, Trump’s decision followed consultations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
However, the move caught senior officials at both the treasury and state departments off guard, according to Reuters. No prior directives had been sent to the agencies responsible for sanctions enforcement, leaving them scrambling to interpret and implement the president’s decision.
“This is something that had been discussed, worked on, options considered for many weeks,” said state department spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Thursday, adding the administration would implement what the president had announced.
However, one US official was quoted by Reuters as saying, “Everyone is trying to figure out how to implement it.”
Some preparations had been in motion, with memos drafted for potential relief following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December. Assad was overthrown after rebel forces led by Ahmad al-Sharaa captured Damascus, ending a brutal 13-year civil war.
Sharaa,who was once a wanted terrorist for the US and is now Syria’s interim president, has since pressed Washington to ease the sanctions that have crippled efforts to rebuild Syria’s economy and health-care system.
The sweeping sanctions, some in place since 1979, include those under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act , enacted in 2019 and extended last year. The law allows the president to waive penalties on national security grounds, which could be a path the administration takes.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio hinted that “initial waivers” may be issued to permit aid flows and business engagement.
Despite the president’s public declaration, the process of unwinding decades of layered sanctions is expected to be slow and complex. “Removing sanctions is rarely straightforward,” said Edward Fishman, a former US official, noting that reversing statutes like the Caesar Act could take months and require congressional approval.
According to Reuters, Trump has asked Syria to meet specific conditions in exchange for relief, including expelling foreign terrorists, deporting “Palestinian terrorists,” and cooperating with the US to prevent an ISIS resurgence.
Regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, both US allies, have backed the shift. Riyadh, which aims to bring Syria out of Iran’s shadow, has pledged aid and even offered to pay off some of Syria’s debt, actions that previously risked violating US sanctions.
Syria’s foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani welcomed the decision as “a new start”, while former US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford was quoted by the BBC as saying, “Removing the sanctions... is absolutely vital” to allow investment and humanitarian support into the country.
During the Riyadh visit, Trump also finalised a record $142 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia and announced that future Saudi investments could surpass $1 trillion, spanning AI, infrastructure, and energy.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also confirmed the sale of over 18,000 AI chips to a Saudi firm.
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