
Sanctions on Syria: a look back, a way forward
For more than a decade, Syria has been under international sanctions aimed at pressuring Bashar Al Assad's regime. But there is a longer history of sanctions on the country and the broader Middle East.
Sanctions can be used as a nudge – or shove – from government to government, usually during times of war.
But their impact continues into periods of relative peace, trickling from the highest ranks of the ruling class down to the labourers and families that make up the backbone of a country's economy. We have seen sanctions ravage Syria's economy on and off since the 1970s, and hold throughout 14 years of civil war.
But following the fall of Mr Assad in December 2024, Syria has a new government, a new head of state and a caretaker cabinet that has promised to rebuild.
In this episode of Business Extra, we are looking at sanctions on Syria, the complexities of these measures and how the country's economy might evolve after they are lifted.

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The National
a day ago
- The National
Syria to give UN inspectors immediate access to suspected former nuclear sites
Syria has agreed to give inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency immediate access to suspected former nuclear sites, the group's director general has said. The UN nuclear watchdog aims to 'bring total clarity over certain activities that took place in the past that were, in the judgment of the agency, probably related to nuclear weapons", Rafael Grossi told the AP on Wednesday. He said the Syrian government, led by President Ahmad Al Shara, was 'committed to opening up to the world, to international co-operation', adding that he is hopeful of finishing the inspection process within the coming months. Mr Grossi's remarks came after he met Mr Al Shara and other officials in Damascus. Mr Grossi said the Syrian leader expressed an interest in pursuing nuclear energy for the country in the future, adding: 'Why not?' An IAEA team visited some sites of interest in 2024, while former president Bashar Al Assad was in power. Since the downfall of his regime in December, the IAEA has sought to secure access to sites associated with Syria's nuclear programme. Under Mr Al Assad, Syria was believed to have operated an extensive clandestine nuclear programme, which included an undeclared reactor built by North Korea in the eastern Deir Ezzor province. The IAEA said the reactor was 'not configured to produce electricity', raising concerns that Damascus sought to develop a nuclear weapon there. The reactor site only became public knowledge after Israel launched air strikes that destroyed the facility in 2007. Syria later levelled the site and did not respond fully to questions from the IAEA. Mr Grossi said inspectors planned to return to the reactor facility in Deir Ezzor, as well as to three other related sites. Other areas under IAEA safeguards include a miniature neutron source reactor in Damascus and a facility in Homs that can process yellow cake uranium. 'We are trying to narrow down the focus to those or that one that could be of a real interest,' he said. While he said there were no indications that radiation had been released from the sites, the agency is concerned that 'enriched uranium can be lying somewhere and could be reused, could be smuggled, could be trafficked". He said Mr Al Shara, who has courted western governments since taking power, had shown a 'very positive disposition to talk to us and to allow us to carry out the activities we need to". Apart from resuming inspections in Syria, Mr Grossi said the IAEA was prepared to transfer equipment for nuclear medicine and to help rebuild radiotherapy and oncology infrastructure in a healthcare system severely weakened by 14 years of civil war. 'And the President has expressed to me that he's interested in exploring, in the future, nuclear energy as well,' added Mr Grossi. Several countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Jordan, are pursuing nuclear energy in some form. Mr Grossi said Syria was likely to look into small modular reactors, which are cheaper and easier to use than traditional large reactors.


Zawya
3 days ago
- Zawya
For Syria, Qatar's $7bln power plan hinges on fixing its grid
DAMASCUS - Qatar has pledged to help war-torn Syria rebuild, but its $7 billion plans for new power plants will mean little unless Damascus can stop armed gangs from looting power cables faster than the cash-strapped government can fix them. The deal announced last week by an international consortium led by Qatar's UCC Holdings promises to massively expand Syria's generation capacity. It marks Syria's biggest foreign investment announcement since President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Damascus last month. For the Islamists who toppled Bashar al-Assad in December, it is a vital step towards getting Syria's infrastructure back on its feet, as they seek to revive the economy and offer hope to a population exhausted by 14 years of conflict. But for Syrians to feel the benefit, the government must first fix the transmission grid. Years of neglect have left the sprawling network of transformer stations and towers stripped as looters continue to steal cables and other components. Two-thirds of the grid is either completely destroyed or in need of major repair, with a repair bill the Energy Ministry currently puts at $5.5 billion, money the state does not have, meaning private investment or other donors must be found. Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir told Reuters the Qatari-led projects - four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants plus a solar plant - would need three years to be fully operational. "During that time, we may complete the grid rehabilitation," he told Reuters. Before 2011, the grid reached 99% of Syrians. Today, it generates less than a fifth of its pre-war output, much of which is stolen. In addition to stealing cables and other components, people are also siphoning off power. That means Syrians get only a few hours of power each day from the grid - even in Damascus, where the air can reek of fumes created by makeshift generators. With electricity so limited, Syrians shape their daily routines around the power schedule, often waking up early to do laundry when electricity is available, for example, then returning to bed. Without reliable power, refrigerating food is another problem, forcing families to buy and cook just enough fresh food for the day. The problem is a leading one for new interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa as he seeks to revive the economy. Choked by sanctions until last month, his government has struggled to establish its grip, with armed groups spread throughout Syria. In the chaos following the fall of Assad, looters have felled transmission towers across the country, stealing cables in order to sell copper and aluminium on the black market. Near Syria's biggest power plant - Deir Ali, south of Damascus - severed cables dangle from now disconnected transmission towers. "Our teams work in one place and the looting is somewhere else," Khaled Abu Di, head of Syria's Public Establishment for Transmission and Distribution of Electricity, told Reuters. Over 80 kilometres (50 miles) of cables in southern Syria have been looted since Assad's fall, he said, noting looting in eastern Syria had thwarted efforts to restore a key transmission line. Security forces were now helping to secure the line, he said. "But we are talking about 280 kilometres (170 miles) of line, we can't hire security along this long line". Ahmad Alakhras, who is leading grid restoration efforts in the south, said his teams often witness looting but are powerless to intervene as the thieves are usually armed. "Our warehouses are almost empty. Between the cities of Sweida and Deraa, 130 tons of high-voltage aluminium conductors were stolen in the past months," he told Reuters. MISSING INGREDIENTS Syria is of course only just taking its first steps in recovering from war, and therefore remains a high-risk destination for investors, lacking key ingredients such as a stable currency, a functional banking sector, and security, said Ghiath Bilal, an expert on the country's power sector. Insecurity and a lack of territorial control are hindering government attempts to patch up the grid, he said. Energy Minister al-Bashir said the government is banking on the private sector taking a leading role in fixing the grid, with companies potentially partnering with the state as contractors. Under such deals, they would be able to sell energy to consumers, recouping their investments. Since Trump announced that sanctions would be lifted, Chinese, U.S., Qatari and Turkish firms have all shown interest in potential investments in the grid, said Energy Ministry spokesperson Ahmad Suleiman. Government plans foresee private investors renting transformer stations and high-voltage transmission lines until they redeem their investments, he said. A major challenge for investors is that Syria's power has long been heavily subsidised, with consumers under Assad's rule paying a fraction of the real cost. With 90% of Syrians below the poverty line, any removal of subsidies would be gradual, said Samer Dahy, an electricity sector researcher for the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies. Yet some investors see scope for undercutting the price of current makeshift substitutes, such as private generators. Syrian businessman Diaa Qaddour, who is planning a $25 million investment in the grid in northern Syria, expects to offer prices well below levels currently paid by consumers relying on such substitutes. Through his Turkey-licensed company, STH Holding, Qaddour said his initial plan is to electrify up to 150,000 homes in rural Aleppo, drawing on power from neighbouring Turkey. He is bullish despite the challenges, citing experience of operating in the north, where Turkey long held sway as a major backer of the opposition to Assad. "The best thing we have going for us is that we've been present on the ground for five years," he said. (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Tom Perry)


Khaleej Times
4 days ago
- Khaleej Times
US gives nod to Syria to bring foreign militant ex-rebels into army
The United States has given its blessing to a plan by Syria's new leadership to incorporate thousands of foreign militant former rebel fighters into the national army, provided that it does so transparently, President Donald Trump's envoy said. Three Syrian defence officials said that under the plan, some 3,500 foreign fighters, mainly Uyghurs from China and neighbouring countries, would join a newly-formed unit, the 84th Syrian army division, which would also include Syrians. Asked by Reuters in Damascus whether Washington approved the integration of foreign fighters into Syria's new military, Thomas Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey who was named Trump's special envoy to Syria last month, said: "I would say there is an understanding, with transparency." He said it was better to keep the fighters, many of whom are "very loyal" to Syria's new administration, within a state project than to exclude them. The fate of foreigners who joined Syria's Hayat Tahrir Al Sham rebels during the 13-year war between rebel groups and President Bashar Al Assad has been one of the most fraught issues hindering a rapprochement with the West since HTS, a one-time offshoot of Al Qaeda, toppled Assad and took power last year. At least until early May, the United States had been demanding the new leadership broadly exclude foreign fighters from the security forces. But Washington's approach to Syria has changed sharply since Trump toured the Middle East last month. Trump agreed to lift Assad-era sanctions on Syria, met Syria's interim President Ahmed Al Sharaa in Riyadh and named Barrack, a close friend, as his special envoy. Two sources close to the Syrian defence ministry told Reuters that Sharaa and his circle had been arguing to Western interlocutors that bringing foreign fighters into the army would be less of a security risk than abandoning them, which could drive them into the orbit of Al Qaeda or Daesh. The US State Department and a Syrian government spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. Chinese concerns Thousands of foreigners joined Syria's rebels early in the 13-year civil war to fight against Assad, who was himself aided by Iranian-backed militias. Some fighters formed their own factions, while others joined established groups such as Daesh, which briefly declared a caliphate in swathes of Syria and Iraq before being routed by an array of forces backed both by the United States and Iran. Foreign fighters within HTS earned a reputation as loyal, disciplined and experienced militants, and formed the backbone of the group's elite so-called suicide units. They fought against Daesh and against other wings of Al Qaeda from 2016, when HTS broke away from the group founded by Osama bin Laden. The Uyghur fighters from China and Central Asia are members of the Turkistan Islamic Party, a group designated as terrorists by Beijing. A Syrian official and a foreign diplomat said China had sought to have the group's influence in Syria restricted. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said: "China hopes that Syria will oppose all forms of terrorism and extremist forces in response to the concerns of the international community." Osman Bughra, a TIP political official, told Reuters in a written statement that the group had officially dissolved and integrated into the Syrian army. "At present, the group operates entirely under the authority of the Ministry of Defence, adheres to national policy, and maintains no affiliations with external entities or groups," he said. In December, the appointment of a handful of foreign militants who were part of HTS's senior leadership to top military posts had alarmed Western governments, raising concerns over the direction of Syria's new Islamist leadership. Demands to freeze the appointments and expel rank-and-file foreign fighters became a key point of contention with Washington and other Western countries up until the week of Trump's landmark meeting with Sharaa. Sharaa has said that foreign fighters and their families may be granted Syrian citizenship due to their role in fighting Assad. Abbas Sharifa, a Damascus-based expert on militant groups, said the fighters being included in the army had shown loyalty to Syria's leadership and were "ideologically filtered". But "if you abandon them they become prey to Daesh or other radical groups" he said.