The U.S. will remove all sanctions on Syria, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday.

“I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump told a packed auditorium at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the first appearance of his four-day visit to the Middle East

“In Syria, which has seen so much misery and death, there is a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace.

That’s what we want to see,” he said in a wide-ranging speech that focused on his own time in office and U.S. relations with the Middle East.

Syria has been under U.S. sanctions since 1979, when it was designated a state sponsor of terrorism.

Additional sanctions were imposed in 2004 and 2011 in response to the Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on anti-government uprisings, which fueled a devastating civil war.

Over the past 14 years, the conflict has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of displaced citizens, and widespread destruction, exacerbated by sectarian violence, terrorist attacks, and foreign interventions, including the Islamic State’s takeover of parts of the country in 2014.

The U.S. sanctions, described by Trump as “brutal and crippling,” isolated Syria from the global financial system, severely hampering economic recovery and reconstruction efforts.

These measures targeted the Assad government’s human rights abuses and support for terrorism but also contributed to the country’s economic collapse, leaving its infrastructure in ruins and its people in dire need of aid.

The toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 by a rebel offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), under the command of Ahmed al-Sharaa, stunned the global community.

Al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda member who claims to have reformed, now leads Syria’s transitional government, raising questions about the country’s future stability and its reintegration into the international community.

Speaking to a packed auditorium in Riyadh, Trump declared, “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness.

Now, it’s their time to shine. We’re taking them all off. Good luck Syria, show us something very special.”

The decision, which Trump said was made after consultations with Saudi and Turkish leaders, reflects a desire to support Syria’s new government in stabilizing the country and fostering peace.

The announcement aligns with Trump’s broader Middle East strategy, which emphasizes economic prosperity, business deals, and transactional diplomacy over military interventions.

During his speech, he highlighted a $600 billion Saudi-U.S. investment deal and a $142 billion arms agreement, underscoring his focus on strengthening ties with Gulf allies.

Trump also expressed hope that Syria’s new leadership would succeed in rebuilding the nation, stating, “In Syria, which has seen so much misery and death, there is a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace.”

The White House confirmed that Trump will meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on May 14, 2025, in Saudi Arabia, marking the first face-to-face meeting between a U.S. president and a Syrian leader since Bill Clinton met Hafez al-Assad in 2000.

Additionally, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Turkey later in the week, signaling further diplomatic engagement.