Trump to Lift Sanctions on Syria In Major Policy Shift

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – In a sweeping shift in U.S. foreign policy, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will lift all sanctions against Syria, following discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The move comes on the eve of a highly anticipated meeting with Syria’s Islamist President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander who rose to power after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.

“I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said at an investment forum in Riyadh. “It’s their time to shine. We’re taking them all off. Good luck Syria, show us something very special.”

The announcement marks a dramatic turnaround in U.S. policy, given Sharaa’s past affiliations. Once a senior figure in al Qaeda’s Iraq branch and the leader of Syria’s Nusra Front (later rebranded as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS), Sharaa severed ties with the terrorist network in 2016. The U.S. lifted a $10 million bounty on his head last December.

Despite ongoing skepticism from U.S. allies — particularly Israel, which still views Sharaa as a jihadist — Trump emphasized that sanctions had fulfilled their purpose. “They had served an important function, but it was now time for Syria to move forward,” he said, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet with his Syrian counterpart later this week to begin normalizing relations.

Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani welcomed the announcement, calling it a “pivotal turning point.”

“We … stand ready to foster a relationship with the United States that is rooted in mutual respect, trust and shared interests,” Shibani said in a statement to Reuters. He also suggested the move could lead to a “historic peace deal and victory for US interests in Syria.”

The U.S. sanctions, many of which date back to the Assad regime and were expanded by Congress in 2019, had isolated Syria from global markets and financial institutions, making postwar recovery nearly impossible. The removal of these restrictions could now open the door for foreign investment and reconstruction efforts long championed by regional powers.

Syria’s new leadership has hinted at openness, even with Israel. Though Israel continues to occupy territory near the Golan Heights and regularly conducts airstrikes in Syria, Damascus has signaled interest in long-term peace, a move analysts say is aimed at reshaping its image globally.

The United Nations, which has repeatedly urged an end to Syria-related sanctions, praised the U.S. decision. “It was important for us to see relief on sanctions on Syria to help the reconstruction of Syria, to help the Syrian people recover from more than a decade of conflict, a decade of underinvestment,” said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly Syria’s al Qaeda affiliate, was officially dissolved in January. Though still under a decade-old U.N. arms embargo and asset freeze, the U.S. did not clarify whether it would advocate for those U.N. designations to be lifted as well.

Trump’s meeting with Sharaa, expected Wednesday morning in Saudi Arabia, will be the first between a U.S. president and a Syrian leader since the civil war began in 2011. A White House official confirmed the meeting and described it as an “opportunity to explore a new chapter in U.S.-Syria relations.”

While the Biden administration had left decisions on Syrian policy unresolved, Gulf nations — particularly Saudi Arabia and Turkey — have thrown their support behind Sharaa’s transitional government. They view his leadership as a bulwark against renewed Iranian influence, which had surged under Assad thanks to military and financial support from Tehran and Moscow.

Trump, who once harshly criticized Islamist factions in Syria, appeared to shift his stance as he departed Washington. “We’re weighing everything,” he said Monday. “President Erdogan has been very persuasive. And frankly, we’re seeing new opportunities in the region that we didn’t think were possible even six months ago.”

Al-Sharaa, whose real name is reportedly Ahmad Hussein al-Sharaa, still faces an open arrest warrant in Iraq on terrorism charges stemming from his involvement with al Qaeda following the 2003 U.S. invasion. Yet his political rehabilitation in the eyes of Gulf leaders — and now potentially Washington — signals a striking recalibration of Middle East dynamics.

The world now watches to see whether Trump’s gamble will usher in stability — or new controversy — in one of the world’s most volatile regions.

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