Latest news with #economicSanctions
New York Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Trump Lifts Sanctions on Syria, Tightening His Embrace of Its New Leader
President Trump signed an executive order on Monday lifting most of the country's economic sanctions on Syria, tightening his embrace of a new government in Damascus despite concerns about its leaders' past ties to Al Qaeda. The move, which scraped decades of American policy toward Syria, delivered on a surprise announcement by Mr. Trump in May during a trip to the Middle East. At a stop in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Trump met with President Ahmed al-Shara of Syria, who assumed power in December after his fighters deposed the longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad. Mr. Trump declared Mr. al-Shara, who previously led a rebel group designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization, 'young, attractive' and 'tough,' and said Syria deserved 'a chance' to rebuild after a devastating civil war that began in March 2011. Some current and former U.S. officials remain wary of Mr. al-Shara and his jihadist background, although he cut ties with Al Qaeda several years ago. But Syria's Arab neighbors are impatient to begin reconstructing Syria, a project that offers not only opportunities to profit but also a chance to stabilize a country that has long exported terrorism, migrants and illegal drugs. Crushing U.S. sanctions imposed during the harsh rule of Mr. Assad, some dating more than 20 years, have kept would-be investors on the sidelines. Starting Tuesday, Mr. Trump's executive order dismantles many of those sanctions, including ones against state-linked entities such as Syria's central bank and other major financial institutions. Sanctions would remain on Mr. al-Assad, who fled to Russia, and his associates, as well as others accused of human rights abuses, drug smuggling and terrorist activities, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Monday. Ms. Leavitt said Mr. Trump was delivering on a promise he made in Saudi Arabia that had 'shocked the world.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Wall Street Journal
29-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
How Israel-Aligned Hackers Hobbled Iran's Financial System
While Israel and the U.S. were bombing Iran's nuclear sites, another battlefield emerged behind the scenes: the financial infrastructure that keeps Tehran connected to the world. Israeli authorities, and a pro-Israeli hacking group called Predatory Sparrow, targeted financial organizations that Iranians use to move money and sidestep the U.S.-led economic blockade, according to Israeli officials and other people familiar with the efforts. U.S. sanctions, imposed off-and-on for decades due to Tehran's nuclear program and support for Islamist groups, have aimed to cut Iran off from the international financial system.
Washington Post
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
US sanctions leadership of Mexico's Jalisco cartel
MEXICO CITY — The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed economic sanctions on five high-ranking members of Mexico's powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel for their drug trafficking, while also citing their involvement in killings. Previous administrations have also sanctioned the cartel – one of Mexico's most powerful -- as the Trump administration also did in May, when it targeted the cartel's fuel theft operations .
Arab News
30-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Syrian minister says lifting of economic sanctions offers hope for recovery
DAMASCUS: The lifting of economic sanctions on the Syrian Arab Republic will allow the government to begin work on daunting tasks that include fighting corruption and bringing millions of refugees home, Hind Kabawat, the minister of social affairs and labor, told The Associated Press on Friday. Kabawat is the only woman and the only Christian in the 23-member cabinet formed in March to steer the country during a transitional period after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in December. Her portfolio will be one of the most important as the country begins rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war. She said moves by the US and the EU in the past week to at least temporarily lift most of the sanctions that had been imposed on Syria over the decades will allow that work to get started. Before, she said, 'we would talk, we would make plans, but nothing could happen on the ground because sanctions were holding everything up and restricting our work.' With the lifting of sanctions, they can move to 'implementation.' One of the first programs the new government is planning to launch is 'temporary schools' for the children of refugees and internally displaced people returning to their home areas. Kabawat said that it will take time for the easing of sanctions to show effects on the ground, particularly since unwinding some of the financial restrictions will involve complicated bureaucracy. 'We are going step by step,' she said. 'We are not saying that anything is easy — we have many challenges — but we can't be pessimistic. We need to be optimistic.' The new government's vision is 'that we don't want either food baskets or tents after five years,' Kabawat said, referring to the country's dependence on humanitarian aid and many displacement camps. That may be an ambitious target, given that 90 percent of the country's population currently lives below the poverty line, according to the UN. The civil war that began in 2011 also displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million people. The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that about half a million have returned to Syria since Assad was ousted. But the dire economic situation and battered infrastructure have also dissuaded many refugees from coming back. The widespread poverty also fed into a culture of public corruption that developed in the Assad era, including solicitation of bribes by public employees and shakedowns by security forces at checkpoints. Syria's new leaders have pledged to end corruption, but they face an uphill battle. Public employees make salaries far below the cost of living, and the new government has so far been unable to make good on a promise to hike public sector wages by 400 percent. 'How can I fight corruption if the monthly salary is $40 and that is not enough to buy food for 10 days?' Kabawat asked. Syria's new rulers, led by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, have been under scrutiny by Western countries over the treatment of Syrian women and religious minorities. In March, clashes between government security forces and pro-Assad armed groups spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks on members of the Alawite sect to which Assad belongs. Hundreds of civilians were killed. The government formed a committee to investigate the attacks, which has not yet reported its findings. Many also criticized the transitional government as giving only token representation to women and minorities. Apart from Kabawat, the Cabinet includes only one member each from the Druze and Alawite sects and one Kurd. 'Everywhere I travel … the first and last question is, 'What is the situation of the minorities?'' Kabawat said. 'I can understand the worries of the West about the minorities, but they should also be worried about Syrian men and women as a whole.' She said the international community's priority should be to help Syria build its economy and avoid the country falling into 'chaos.' Despite being the only woman in the Cabinet, Kabawat said 'now there is a greater opportunity for women' than under Assad and that 'today there is no committee being formed that does not have women in it.' 'Syrian women have suffered a lot in these 14 years and worked in all areas,' she said. 'All Syrian men and women need to have a role in rebuilding our institutions.' She called for those wary of President Al-Sharaa to give him a chance. The West has warmed to the new president — particularly after his recent high-profile meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Putin ‘would face a revolt' if he halted war machine
Hopes that President Putin will agree to voluntarily end Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a result of peace negotiations are a 'big illusion', a top adviser to President Zelensky has said. 'It is impossible to hold rational talks with Russia,' Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior member of Zelensky's team in Kyiv since 2020, told The Times. Russia 'cannot, does not want to and will not' stop fighting in Ukraine unless it is forced to by economic sanctions and strikes on its military infrastructure, Podolyak said. 'All the talk about how it is possible to have negotiations with Russia and to agree on something pragmatically and rationally are just an illusion, one big illusion.' His comments come after senior members of President Trump's administration signalled that talks
