Syria Sanctions Relief

As a result of the Assad regime’s repression of the Syrian people as well as it’s abetting regional and international terrorism, Syria used to be one of the most comprehensively sanctioned jurisdictions worldwide. However, given the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the European Union and the United States suspended the majority of their sanctions on Syria in May 2025. This marks the most sweeping shift in US and EU policies toward Damascus in over a decade.

EU Sanctions Lifting

With the enactment of Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1098 on May 20, 2025, the EU suspended restrictions in the areas of energy, finance, and transport in an effort to support the economic recovery of the country. By contrast, sanctions on weapons, dual-use items, equipment for internal repression, and technology for interception and surveillance are being continued. The designations related to the Assad regime, diffusion of chemical weapons, and illegal drug trade are also kept in place. The assets of those designated persons remain blocked. It is prohibited to make funds and other economic resources available to them.

US Sanctions Lifting

By issuing General License No. 25 on May 23, 2025, the Office of Foreign Assets Control authorized all transactions prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulation, other than transactions involving blocked persons. General License No. 25 does not authorize:

• Any transactions involving any individual or entity identified on the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) that is not listed in the Annex of this general license, as well as any entity in which one or more of such SDNs own a 50 percent or greater interest;
• Any transactions for or on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Government of Iran, the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), or related to the transfer or provision of goods, technology, software, funds, financing, or services to or from Russia, Iran, or the DPRK.

Moreover, Syria continues to be an US arms embargoed country.