6/1/2025–|Last updated: 1/6/202511:24 PM (Mecca time)
The US Treasury Department announced on its website today, Monday, the issuance of a general license related to Syria, allowing transactions with Syrian government institutions and some energy transactions.
The licenses include allowing the transfer of personal funds to Syria, including through the Central Bank of Syria, in a move that may aim to facilitate financial operations related to individuals and institutions.
Regarding restrictions on aid, the Wall Street Journal on Monday quoted officials as saying that the administration of US President Joe Biden plans to announce the easing of restrictions on humanitarian aid to Syria and accelerate the delivery of basic supplies, without lifting the sanctions that restrict other aid to the new government.
Officials told the newspaper that this step – approved by the US administration – authorizes the Treasury Department to issue exemptions to relief groups and companies that provide basics such as water, electricity, and other humanitarian supplies.
An American delegation headed by Barbara Leaf, Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs, met with the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, on December 20, and discussed with him the lifting of sanctions.
The Syrian caretaker government called several times for the lifting of sanctions so that it could revive and rebuild the exhausted country, stressing that the reasons for imposing them were eliminated with the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.