Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has a colossal problem. Syria’s infrastructure, including housing and commerce, was significantly destroyed during more than a decade of civil war. The new Syrian government will have great difficulty rebuilding Syria after more than a decade of civil war unless US and other sanctions are lifted.
Syria has been under comprehensive sanctions for decades. The United States has considered Syria a state sponsor of terrorism since 1979. Further US sanctions were imposed for Syria’s actions in Lebanon and for atrocities of the Assad regime and use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people. These are the sanctions Trump likely intended on May 13 to lift.
Additionally, the United States and other countries have imposed terrorism sanctions against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other groups that made up the coalition of groups that overthrew the Assad regime in December 2024. His nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolan indicates he is from a family from the Golan. He fought with Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and later led al-Nusra Front, which was the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. Many of Sharaa’s top lieutenants are under individual sanctions. These terrorism sanctions may stay on, for the time being. When State Department officials met with Sharaa in December, the only relief the United States offered was the cancellation of a $10 million reward for Sharaa’s arrest.
Sharaa and other officials of the new Syrian government have been careful to say the right things: that Syria wants peace with its neighbors in order to concentrate on rebuilding at home. On April 19, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told two visiting Republican members of Congress that Syria was interested in discussing joining the Abraham Accords with Israel and other countries.
This got the attention of the Trump administration and led to President Trump’s surprise announcement in Riyadh on May 13, that he was lifting sanctions against the Syrian government. Trump encouraged Sharaa during their meeting on May 14 to join the Abraham Accords and exclude Palestinian and ISIS terrorists from any influence in the new Syria. Trump rightly considers the Abraham Accords to be a great diplomatic achievement and he wants to expand the Accords to include Saudi Arabia and other countries.
No one expects Syria to join the Accords right away. Both Israel and Syria have serious issues to resolve before normalization is possible. Israel is deeply concerned with the intentions of a government dominated by so many figures with ties to terrorist groups that have called for Israel’s destruction. Syria is concerned with Israel’s recent occupation of Syrian territory and still regards the Golan Heights (taken during the 1967 war) as Syrian. According to an Arabic TV channel in Syria, after Sharaa’s meeting with the two Republican members of Congress, the Syrian government wrote a letter to the United States saying it would not normalize relations with Israel as long as Israel occupied Syrian lands. In the same letter, though, the Syrian government said it was determined to build a state that does not threaten anyone.
Lifting Sanctions Became the Logical Next Step
Even before Trump arrived in Riyadh, Syria and Israel were already in indirect talks with the United Arab Emirates acting as mediator. Talks are focusing on security and intelligence matters and confidence-building. Sharaa acknowledged these talks publicly during his May 7 press conference with French president Emmanuel Macron.
What Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Erdoğan, and other Middle Eastern leaders said to President Trump to persuade him to lift sanctions is not yet public. Watching Trump’s speech in Riyadh, it was clear that the warmth of Saudi diplomacy and the many commercial deals signed or announced during Trump’s visit had a strong impact on Trump. Clearly, President Trump listened to what Arab officials were telling him.
Lifting of sanctions is an important step but further steps are needed for lasting peace. For example, in rebuilding its air force, Syria could opt not to purchase fighter-bombers that would pose a threat to Israel. Syria could also decide not to purchase or build surface-to-surface missiles or rocket launchers such as Hizbullah once had in Lebanon. If Sharaa wants Israel to relinquish control of some Syrian territory, he needs to recognize that this will happen only by Syria not being a threat to Israel. If Syria becomes a threat, Israel will apply the lessons of Lebanon and Gaza and be even less likely to pull back. Syria will need to make choices that give its neighbors confidence that the new Syrian leadership is committed, beyond words alone, to peace and reconstruction.
With the lifting of sanctions, Syria’s physical reconstruction can now begin. Further steps are needed to bring about peace between Syria and all its neighbors, including Israel. The 1978 Nobel Peace Prize marked the end of the state of war between Egypt and Israel. The Nobel committee will no doubt mark the day when Syria and Israel do the same.
