The administration said it’s lifting the sanctions without conditions, but hopes the move to end Syria’s isolation in global financial markets will encourage the government headed by the U.S.-designated terrorist Ahmed al-Sharaa to fulfill a number of criteria related to countering terrorism, integrating the Syrian Kurdish forces, respect for minorities and establishing ties with Israel.
“Neither the president nor the secretary of State are nation building, they’re not dictating,” Ambassador to the Republic of Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said.
“They’re not requiring, they’re not giving the framework of the democratic model that needs to be implemented to their architectural desire. They’re saying we’re going to give you an opportunity.”
Trump announced during a speech in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13 that he was lifting sanctions on Syria and blasted “interventionists” and “neocons” as wrecking “far more nations than they built.”
Trump’s executive order will begin to unravel decades of layered sanctions against Syria. The country was designated a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1979, although the State Department did not immediately return a request for comment if that designation would be lifted. A fact sheet provided by the White House said that the Secretary of State will review Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
The secretary will also review the sanctions designation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham as a Foreign Terrorist Organization — the group that overthrew Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad late last year.
Sanctions will remain on Assad and officials sanctioned for human rights abuses, corruption, terrorism and other violations.
“While we remain hopeful for the country’s future and its new government, we are also clear eyed that threats to peace remain,” Brad Smith, acting undersecretary of the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Department of the Treasury, said in a briefing with reporters previewing the president’s executive order.
“The United States will remain ever vigilant where our interests and security are threatened, and Treasury will not hesitate to use our authorities to protect U.S. and international financial systems.”
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.
Iran said that more than 900 people were killed in its nearly two-week war with Israel, which subsided with a ceasefire shortly after the U.S. carried out strikes on three of Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported Monday that Asghar Jahangir, an Iranian judiciary spokesperson, said the war’s death toll had reached 935 in Iran. Of those killed, 38 were children …
Federal authorities say they will discontinue some weather data — but they are delaying the original plan to do so by one month. Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said it would phase out data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, which has collected weather data for military operations for more than 50 years. “Due to recent service changes, the Defense Meteorological Satellite …
The B-2 pilots who carried out the strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities will visit the White House on Friday for the Fourth of July holiday, a White House official told The Hill. The president will speak at a celebration that will include a flyover of B-2 bombers and other personnel from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, CBS first reported. President Trump said the pilots are “going to come to the White House,” without specifying …
President Trump knocked Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on Monday for suggesting over the weekend that the Trump administration is considering entering into deal with Iran similar to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was struck in former President Obama’s administration. “Tell phony Democrat Senator Chris Coons that I am not offering Iran ANYTHING, unlike Obama, who paid them $Billions under the stupid ‘road …
Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is in Washington, D.C., today and tomorrow for talks with senior administration officials on Iran, Gaza and other issues.
In Other News
Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
Judge again delays Abrego Garcia’s release from Tennessee jail over deportation concerns
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia will stay in jail for now over concerns from his lawyers that he could be deported if he’s released to await his trial on human smuggling charges, a federal judge in Tennessee ruled Monday. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys had asked the judge to delay his release …
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peacewill hold a talk on “Explosive Triangle: The U.S., Iran and Israel,” at 11 a.m.
The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studieswill have a discussion with Col. Robert Davis, the program executive officer of the Space Sensing Directorate at Space Systems Command, at 2 p.m.
What We’re Reading
News we’ve flagged from other outlets:
CIA chief told lawmakers Iran nuclear program set back years with strikes on metal conversion site (The Associated Press)
Russian barrage of drones and missiles hits beyond usual Ukraine targets (The New York Times)
New Army shaving policy will allow soldiers with skin condition that affects mostly Black men to be kicked out (Military.com)
The Senate is more than seven hours into a vote-a-rama on the massive GOP policy legislation dubbed the “big, beautiful bill” after a marathon … Read more
Elon Musk renewed his calls Monday for a new political party as he lodged sharp criticism against President Trump’s megabill as the Senate seeks to … Read more
Opinions in The Hill
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