Summary
- Senator Jeanne Shaheen hopes to lift the Caesar Act this year.
- Sanctions target Syria, aiming to support country stability.
- The US ended most of Syria economic sanctions in July 2025.
- Sanctions remain on Assad, terrorist groups, and regional actors.
A bipartisan group of legislators, including Ms. Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate foreign relations committee, worked to first implement the penalties in 2019 under the name Caesar Act. Members of the former president Bashar Al Assad's regime who were charged with war crimes and violations of human rights were the target of the sanctions.
"We've got an opportunity in the Middle East that we have not had in decades,"
Ms Shaheen told an event organised by the Council on Foreign Relations.
"With Syria, the fall of Assad, there is the potential to see stability in Syria that will make a huge difference."
After more than ten years of brutal civil conflict, opposition organizations led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham launched a blitz effort to overthrow the Assad administration. Since then, HTS has promised more elections and established a transitional administration.
After more than ten years of brutal civil conflict, opposition organizations led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham launched a blitz effort to overthrow the Assad administration. Since then, HTS has promised more elections and established a transitional administration.
"Now Assad is gone and so now we need to see what we can do to support stability in Syria,"
Ms Shaheen said.
"That's how foreign policy should work. In my mind, we should find bipartisan agreement. We should figure out how to get things done."
For the past year, Damascus has been trying to get countries all around the world to lift sanctions. Ahead of a meeting with Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara in May, US President Donald Trump declared during his Gulf trip that Washington would lift sanctions imposed on the nation during the Assad period.
The US Treasury Department declared in late August that it was taking Syria off of its list of sanctions. Additionally, Ms. Shaheen and other senators proposed legislation in June with the goal of repealing the Caesar Act a month later.
Following weeks of unrest between the Druze and Bedouin communities in the Sweida region, she met with Mr. Al Shara to discuss minority rights when traveling to Syria with a bipartisan delegation late last month.
"Today’s meeting with leaders from many faiths was a testament to the Syrian people’s common cause: a country free from violence where people of many backgrounds can work together toward a brighter future,"
she said in a statement.
"America is ready to be a partner to a new Syria that moves in the right direction."
Ms. Shaheen described the Israeli raid on US partner Qatar as "unfortunate" and a "significant escalation" during the Council on Foreign Relations discussion.
"I would hope that we are going to have conversations about that escalation and about how to reduce the threat of escalation instead of increasing,"
she said.
"I understand that they were going after one of the Hamas leaders, and we all agree that Hamas should be eliminated, but we have to be thoughtful about escalating things in a way that aren't helpful, especially when we've got this opportunity in the region."
What steps are necessary for Congress to lift Syria sanctions?
The U.S. President must certify to Congress that Syria has met specific conditions related to human rights, counterterrorism, and political reforms or issue a national security waiver if such certification is not practicable.
For example, under the Caesar Act, the President must determine that Syria, Russia, and Iran have ceased acts targeting civilians, allowed international aid, released political prisoners, permitted displaced persons to return, and held perpetrators accountable.
The President and relevant agencies must review and potentially revoke sanctions imposed under laws like the Syria Accountability Act, the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act, and the State Sponsor of Terrorism designation for Syria.