Trump Signs Order Lifting Most of the Sanctions on Syria

President Donald Trump on June 30 signed an executive order terminating a US sanctions programme on Syria, allowing an end to the country's isolation from the international financial system and building on Washington's pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war.

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WASHINGTON –

The move will allow the US to maintain sanctions on Syria's ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, people linked to chemical weapons activities, the Islamic State and ISIS affiliates and proxies for Iran, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in a briefing.

Assad was toppled in December in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led rebels and Syria has since taken steps to re-establish international ties.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said Mr Trump's termination of the Syria sanctions programme would "open the door of long-awaited reconstruction and development", according to a post by the foreign minister on social media platform X.

He said the move would "lift the obstacle" against economic recovery and open the country to the international community.

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mr Trump met in Riyadh in May where, in a major policy shift, Mr Trump unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.