Earlier this week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that lifts most American sanctions against Syria, in a movement that experts say that the growing recognition within the administration reflects that Syria, a battlefield for Iranian influence and Islamist terror, now offers the US a rare opportunity to act against regional, opposite, teigne -to -speaking, freisages, to support.
During a press conference of the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said reporters: “This is a different promise and promise of this president,” she said, referring to the recent meeting of Trump with the new transition leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa of Syria during a trip to Saudi Arabia. “He is dedicated to support a Syria that is stable, united and in peace with himself and his neighbors.”
Trump signs the lifting of sanctions against Syria
President Donald Trump meets members of the Juventus Soccer Club in the Oval Office of the White House, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
According to Schenker, Syria has taken steps that the US has long demanded: allowing inspections by the IAEA and the organization for the ban on chemical weapons, sharing intelligence about ISIS and collaborating with American liaison officers on terrorism. “These groups have Al-Sharaa declared an unbeliever. They are attacked by ISIS themselves,” he noticed.
President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, released on May 14, 2025 (Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Reuters)
For the US, the deployment extends much further than the sanction aid. Schenker said that a stable Syria is focused on education and social services, instead of military structure, would be much less fertile grounds for ISIS or Iranian influence.
Ali described the present moment as part of a broader Trump strategy: “Now disappeared with Assad, it is another blow to the Islamic Republic of Iran. This creates an opportunity to merge the Sunni Arab states around the Abraham agreements or a growing anti-Iran coalition.”
The US Army still maintains a small but critical footprint in Syria – about 1,000 troops over three to four bases in the northeast – that offer essential intelligence and rapid attack capacity. “That footprint is one of our most important outdoor posts terrorism,” said Ali. “We have seen several targeted operations this year alone.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei greets Syrian President Bashar Assad in Tehran, Iran, on 25 February 2019. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)
Trump asks Syria to join Abraham Accords, to normalize the ties with Israel in exchange for sanctions.
However, he said that deeper American Syrian cooperation could produce new complications. “There is always a risk that as the tires get deeper, the US can reduce the presence-or al-Sharaa could ask us to scale back,” Ali said. “That can affect our ability to follow the jihadist activity or to manage the tens of thousands of ISIS prisoners who are still being guarded in camps by SDF troops.”
In the meantime, the diplomatic implications of Trump’s movement worldwide attract attention. The new leadership of Syria has publicly distanced itself from Iran, reportedly blocked Hezbollah weapons and dismantled several Iranian military posts throughout the country.
“The president is really focused on expanding the Abraham agreements,” said Schenker. “He sees Syria as the next possible candidate.”
A masked terrorist of the Islamic State has the ISIS flag in 2015. (Images of History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Nevertheless, normalization with Israel remains politically loaded. Syria remains officially at war with the Jewish state, and while Sharaa has hinted on accepting the ceasefires before 1974, jihadist factactions and Islamic groups in Syria remain sad. “Murder attempts have already been reported on Sharaa,” said Schenker. “It becomes more difficult if he goes from non-bellercy to full standardization.”
Syrians gather at Umayyad Square to celebrate the collapse of 61 years of Baath party rule in Damascus on December 9, 2024. (Murat Sengul/Anadolu via Getty images)
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Despite the encouraging of signs on diplomatic rail-as reported back channel discussions and reduced rhetoric-being Israeli air strikes in the Syrian area continued, with hundreds only launched this year. The new leadership of Syria did not respond militarily, but the tensions remain high.
“The facts on the ground do not reflect the progress that is made behind closed doors,” Lister said. “We just have to hope that those two dynamics meet in the middle, and things also calm down on the floor.”
