U.S. objectives in Syria: What lies behind the lifting of Damascus sanctions?

During a recent trip to the region, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to lift sanctions on Syria.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that a 180-day waiver from sanctions imposed on Syria under the Caesar Act would be issued, marking the first step in realizing Trump’s vision for establishing a new relationship with Syria.

Rubio claimed, “We have issued a sanctions waiver for Syria to boost investments and cash flows, and to facilitate services and reconstruction.”

The U.S. Treasury Department also announced that the lifting of sanctions includes Syrian Airlines and several banks, as well as the Central Bank, the Syrian Gas Company, the Syrian Oil Company, the Port of Latakia, and the Ministries of Energy and Tourism.

Experts believe that Trump’s lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria reflects an effort to bring the country back into the sphere of Western influence following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s government.

The U.S. and the UK aim to revive Syria’s pre-war oil and gas sectors, which were once a primary energy source for Europe.

This is strategically vital for major global powers for various reasons, and the speed of U.S. action underscores this point.

The plans Washington now has for Syria largely mirror those devised in early 2011, when the U.S. believed the Syrian government would collapse within weeks.

Alongside the U.S., the UK has recently lifted sanctions on several major Syrian companies, particularly those related to the oil and gas sectors, as part of a coordinated Western strategy.

Notably, on May 20, the European Union announced it would follow the U.S. lead and lift its remaining sanctions on Syria.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, claimed in a post on X, “We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive, and peaceful Syria.”

It must be understood that lifting these sanctions is not a gift from the West to Syria; there are many questions regarding Trump’s motives and what concessions may be extracted from Syria.

Over the years, U.S. forces have not only occupied parts of Syria and supported armed groups for their operations and agenda in the region but have also continued to steal Syrian oil, transporting it from their bases in Syria to bases in Iraq.

Convoys consisting of dozens of vehicles, including tankers filled with oil stolen from fields occupied by U.S. forces in Syria, along with trucks carrying military equipment, have regularly been seen heading toward northern Iraq.

U.S. involvement in this crisis-stricken country, from occupation to military agendas and oil theft, remains under scrutiny.

In 2020, Donald Trump openly admitted to the occupation of Syria, stating, “I left troops to take the oil. I took the oil. The only troops I have in Syria are taking the oil.”

His candid statements in 2019–2020 about “keeping the oil” in Syria sparked international criticism and raised questions about the legality of U.S. actions under international law.

The U.S. had previously controlled 90% of Syria’s oil, justifying its presence in Syrian oil fields as necessary to prevent these resources from falling into the hands of ISIS remnants.

However, the real strategic objectives appear more complex; a senior Pentagon official previously admitted that blocking Damascus’s access to its own oil resources was part of a deliberate pressure campaign.