Anthony Labruna - Syria

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER LIFTING SANCTIONS ON SYRIA

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to formally lift all sanctions on Syria on Monday afternoon. "This is in an effort to promote and support the country's path to stability and peace. The order will remove sanctions on Syria while maintaining sanctions on the former president Assad or his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, persons linked to chemical weapons activities, ISIS and their affiliates, and Iranian proxies," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. The administration says the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime represented a "new beginning" for Syrian people. Trump decided U.S. sanctions "would not stand in the way of what could be a brighter future for the country." Some sanctions will still need to be lifted by Congress, and others date to 1979, when Syria was designated a state sponsor of terrorism. The administration has not yet lifted that designation. Trump met last month with Syria’s new interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, during a Middle East visit. Al-Sharaa’s group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Syrian militant organization founded as an offshoot of al Qaeda, overthrew Assad in March.

Executive Director at American Principles Project, ANTHONY LABRUNA