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Earlier this week, President Donald Trump signed an government order lifting most U.S. sanctions on Syria, in a transfer specialists say displays rising recognition contained in the administration that Syria, lengthy a battleground for Iranian affect and Islamist terror, could now provide the U.S. a uncommon alternative to reclaim regional leverage, counter enemies, and help allies like Israel and Jordan.
At a White Home press briefing Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters, “That is one other promise made and promise saved by this president,” she mentioned, referring to Trump’s latest assembly with Syria’s new transitional chief Ahmed al-Sharaa throughout a visit to Saudi Arabia. “He’s dedicated to supporting a Syria that’s steady, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbors.”
“The sanctions did their job,” David Schenker, former assistant secretary of state for Close to Japanese Affairs and now a senior fellow on the Washington Institute, informed Fox Information Digital. “They have been crippling by and enormous. There’s zero financial life within the nation. However Trump is giving Syria an opportunity to succeed.”
TRUMP SIGNS ORDER LIFTING SANCTIONS ON SYRIA
President Donald Trump meets with members of the Juventus soccer membership within the Oval Workplace of the White Home, June 18, 2025. (AP Picture/Alex Brandon)
Javed Ali, former senior official on the Nationwide Safety Council and professor on the College of Michigan, informed Fox Information Digital, “It’s a strategic calculation. A Syria that not hosts Iranian proxies, cooperates on counterterrorism, and integrates with Arab neighbors serves U.S. pursuits on each entrance.”
Based on Schenker, Syria has taken steps the U.S. has lengthy demanded: permitting inspections by the IAEA and the Group for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, sharing intelligence on ISIS, and cooperating with American liaison officers on counterterrorism. “These teams have declared al-Sharaa an infidel. They themselves are being attacked by ISIS,” he famous.
President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on this picture launched on Might 14, 2025. (Saudi Press Company/Handout through Reuters)
For the U.S., the stakes prolong far past sanctions aid. Schenker mentioned a steady Syria centered on schooling and social providers, quite than navy buildup, can be far much less fertile floor for ISIS or Iranian affect.
Ali described the present second as a part of a broader Trump technique: “Now with Assad gone, it’s one other blow to the Islamic Republic of Iran. This creates a chance to coalesce the Sunni Arab states – both across the Abraham Accords or a rising anti-Iran coalition.”
The U.S. navy nonetheless maintains a small however vital footprint in Syria – roughly 1,000 troops throughout three to 4 bases within the northeast – offering important intelligence and speedy strike functionality. “That footprint has been one among our most vital counterterrorism outposts,” Ali mentioned. “We’ve seen a number of focused operations this yr alone.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei greets Syrian President Bashar Assad in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 25, 2019. (Workplace of the Iranian Supreme Chief through AP, File)
TRUMP ASKS SYRIA TO JOIN ABRAHAM ACCORDS, NORMALIZE TIES WITH ISRAEL IN RETURN FOR SANCTIONS RELIEF
He mentioned, nonetheless, that deeper U.S.-Syrian cooperation may convey new issues. “There’s at all times a danger that as ties deepen, both the U.S. may cut back its presence – or al-Sharaa would possibly ask us to cut back,” Ali mentioned. “That would influence our capability to watch jihadist exercise or handle the tens of 1000’s of ISIS detainees nonetheless in camps guarded by SDF forces.”
In the meantime, the diplomatic implications of Trump’s transfer are drawing world consideration. Syria’s new management has publicly distanced itself from Iran, reportedly blocked Hezbollah weapon shipments, and dismantled a number of Iranian military posts throughout the nation.
“The president is genuinely centered on increasing the Abraham Accords,” mentioned Schenker. “He sees Syria as the following potential candidate.”
White Home spokeswoman Taylor Rogers informed Fox Information Digital. “President Trump is working in the direction of lasting peace within the Center East, which incorporates supporting a Syria that’s steady, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbors. The President is empowering Syria’s success by lifting sanctions on export controls whereas sustaining sanctions on terrorists and all different potential threats to america. The President made a promise to offer Syria an opportunity to rebuild and thrive by lifting sanctions, and this President retains his guarantees.”
A masked Islamic State terrorist holds the ISIS flag in 2015. (Footage from Historical past/Common Pictures Group through Getty Pictures)
Nonetheless, normalization with Israel stays politically fraught. Syria stays formally at battle with the Jewish state, and whereas Sharaa has hinted at accepting the pre-1974 ceasefire strains, jihadist factions and Islamist teams inside Syria stay staunchly opposed. “There have already been reported assassination makes an attempt on Sharaa,” Schenker mentioned. “It’s going to get tougher if he strikes from non-belligerency to full normalization.”
Charles Lister, director of the Syria program on the Center East Institute, informed Fox Information Digital, “Syria has at all times been an open wound within the heart of the area – an engine of instability… But when it stabilizes now, it unlocks a path for broader regional integration. It connects Israel and Jordan to a safer arc and reduces the necessity for heavy U.S. navy involvement.”
Syrians collect at Umayyad Sq. to rejoice the collapse of 61 years of Baath Occasion rule in Damascus on Dec. 9, 2024. (Murat Sengul/Anadolu through Getty Pictures)
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Regardless of encouraging indicators on the diplomatic monitor – equivalent to reported back-channel talks and diminished rhetoric – Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory have continued, with a whole lot launched this yr alone. Syria’s new management has not responded militarily, however tensions stay excessive.
“The information on the bottom don’t but mirror the progress being made behind closed doorways,” Lister mentioned. “We simply should hope that these two dynamics meet within the center, and issues relax on the bottom as effectively.”
