President Trump used his visit to Saudi Arabia to announce that the Caesar sanctions against Syria would be lifted, and he also met with the new President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Riyadh on May 14. Al-Sharaa is a former leader of Al Qaeda, who until recently was on America’s terrorist wanted list with a $10 million bounty offered. The Assad government in Syria was overthrown in 2024, in part as a result of the long-term effect of the deadly Caesar sanctions on the country.
Trump in part explained the about-face by suggesting he had done it at the request of his Saudi host, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Oh, what I do for the crown prince!” he stated at a public investment forum in Riyadh.
Although the lifting of the Caesar sanctions is in itself good, and will help alleviate the economic plight of the Syrian population, the question remains as to the political motives behind the decision. Fox News reported the following quid pro quo: “President Donald Trump asked Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to fully normalize relations with Israel in exchange for sanctions relief. In a readout of the pivotal Wednesday meeting for Syria, Trump encouraged al-Sharaa to sign onto the Abraham Accords with Israel, tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, deport ‘Palestinian terrorists,’ help the U.S. prevent the resurgence of ISIS and assume charge of ISIS detention centers in northeast Syria.”
