U.N. approves U.S.-backed effort to raise sanctions on Syria’s president

The U.N. Security Council on Thursday (November 6, 2025) voted to raise a sequence of sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and members of his authorities days earlier than he’s set to reach within the U.S. for a historic go to to the White House.

The U.S. decision to drop U.N. sanctions tied to Mr. al-Sharaa and Syria’s Interior Minister, Anas Hasan Khattab, stemming from their ties to the al-Qaida militant group, was adopted with 14 members in help. China abstained from the vote.

“With the adoption of this textual content, the council is sending a powerful political sign that recognises Syria is in a brand new period since Assad and his associates have been toppled in December 2024,” Mike Waltz, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, stated in his assertion after the vote, referring to longtime autocratic chief Bashar Assad.

American officers pushed to cross the decision earlier than Monday, when President Donald Trump is anticipated to host Mr. al-Sharaa within the first go to by a Syrian president to Washington because the nation gained independence in 1946.

Syria’s international ministry welcomed the vote, saying in a press release that the near-unanimous help “displays the rising confidence in President al-Sharaa’s management” and “represents a victory for Syrian diplomacy, which has succeeded in restoring worldwide recognition of Syria’s standing and its pivotal function within the area”.

But China remained skeptical of the hassle.

Fu Cong, Chinese ambassador to the UN, stated that whereas Beijing helps the Syrian folks, the U.S. proposal didn’t adequately tackle “the professional considerations of all events” concerning counterterrorism and safety in Syria.

“The sponsor didn’t totally heed the views of all members and compelled the council to take motion even when there have been enormous variations amongst council members in an try to serve its personal political agenda,” he stated.

While Mr. al-Sharaa is in Washington, Syria is anticipated to affix the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition, which incorporates some 80 international locations working to forestall a resurgence of the militant group.

The effort is a part of Mr. Trump’s technique to rebuild relations with Syria after the 50-year rule of the Assad household got here to an finish in a lightning offensive led by al-Sharaa. Assad’s fall additionally dropped at an finish practically 14 years of civil conflict.

Since then, Mr. al-Sharaa has sought to revive ties with Arab international locations and the West, the place officers have been initially cautious of his previous ties to al-Qaida. The insurgent group he previously led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was beforehand designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organisation.

Mr. Trump met Mr. al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May and made good on a pledge to raise or waive a long time of sanctions in opposition to the war-torn nation.

However, probably the most stringent sanctions have been imposed by Congress beneath the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act in 2019 and would require a congressional vote to take away them completely.

In a bipartisan assertion, the highest Democrat and Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee welcomed the UN motion on Thursday and stated it was now Congress’ flip to behave to “convey the Syrian financial system into the twenty first century”.

We “are actively working with the administration and our colleagues in Congress to repeal Caesar sanctions”, Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen stated in a press release forward of the vote.

“It’s time to prioritise reconstruction, stability, and a path ahead relatively than isolation that solely deepens hardship for Syrians.” Syria’s battle broke out in early 2011 and left practically half 1,000,000 folks useless and hundreds of thousands displaced, together with many who at the moment are refugees. The conflict brought on widespread destruction, and Syria will want tens of billions of {dollars} to rebuild.