Assalamu alaykum - UN Security Council Removes Sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa
Assalamu alaykum. I wanted to share an update on recent UN action and what it could mean for Syria.
The UN Security Council voted this week to remove sanctions on Ahmad Al-Sharaa, effectively taking him off the Daesh and Al-Qaeda sanctions list. The resolution, put forward by the US, passed 14–0 with China abstaining. It also delisted Syria’s interior minister, Anas Hasan Khattab. Acting under Chapter VII, the council said the two officials are no longer subject to the previous asset freezes and travel bans.
Al-Sharaa was in Belem, Brazil, for COP30 and is expected to meet the US president in Washington soon. He led the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham coalition during the December 2024 offensive that ended the Assad era and later became Syria’s de facto leader.
The US has been pushing for months to ease sanctions on Syria and the new government. The US envoy to the UN said the vote sends a political signal that Syria has entered a new era since Assad was removed, and praised the new leadership’s commitments on countering terrorism, narcotics, eliminating chemical weapon remnants, protecting human rights, and promoting a Syrian-led political process.
The resolution noted previous counterterrorism measures against Daesh and Al-Qaeda but said delisting is part of efforts to support Syria’s reconstruction, stability and development, while keeping global counterterrorism safeguards in place. It welcomed Syria’s stated pledges on unhindered humanitarian access, countering foreign terrorist fighters, protecting all Syrians regardless of ethnicity or religion, counter-narcotics work, transitional justice, and regional stability.
The council expects Syrian authorities to honor these commitments and help maintain regional stability. Al-Sharaa had been sanctioned since May 2014 when his group was linked to Al-Qaeda, carrying travel bans and asset freezes for over a decade. The UN vote follows the US decision in May to lift most US sanctions on Syria, though some congressional restrictions remain.
This move is being read as a turning point in international engagement with Syria - both recognition of changed realities and an incentive for continued cooperation on humanitarian access, counterterrorism and political reform.
May Allah grant peace, justice and relief to the people of Syria. Please keep them in your duas.
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