U.S. senator urges Trump administration to ease sanctions on Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen on Tuesday called on the Trump administration to remove barriers hindering broader cooperation with the Syrian transitional government and to ease sanctions that restrict critical support.
“The fall of the Assad regime presents a fleeting opportunity for the United States to safeguard American interests,” said Shaheen, who serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Shaheen urged the administration to promptly reduce the sanctions risk on key sectors including agriculture, energy, power grid infrastructure, finance, telecommunications, and education.
The letter pointed out that although the Treasury has issued two general licenses to accommodate certain needs, “time and geographic limitations have restricted the full utilization of the licenses.”
Shaheen advocated for short-term sanctions relief on Syria and emphasized the importance of aligning U.S. national security priorities. These include preventing Syria from becoming a platform for terrorist activity, ensuring the withdrawal of Russian and Iranian forces, eliminating remaining stockpiles of chemical weapons and captagon, and collaborating on the search for missing Americans, including journalist Austin Tice.
The letter also called for broader international cooperation and comprehensive sanctions relief—contingent on irreversible progress by the Syrian transitional government on core U.S. interests.
Shaheen warned that failure by the transitional government to meet these expectations could lead to further economic and diplomatic isolation.
She also flagged rising tensions between U.S. allies Israel and Turkey over Syria’s future, which could jeopardize American strategic interests, and urged the administration to move swiftly to mediate between the two.