UN Security Council Lifts Sanctions on Syria’s New President in Landmark Vote

US-led resolution passes with overwhelming support, marking a strategic shift and offering Syria a ‘chance at greatness,’ says Washington.

NEW YORK CITY – In a move signaling a major shift in international policy towards Syria, the UN Security Council voted decisively on Thursday to remove President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and his interior minister from a global terrorism sanctions list.

The US-drafted Resolution 2729 was adopted with 14 votes in favor and one abstention from China. The action immediately lifts asset freezes and travel bans imposed on Al-Sharaa over a decade ago for his former role with the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham coalition, then an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

The delisting is widely seen as a pragmatic recognition of the new political reality in Syria following the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. Al-Sharaa, who led the offensive that toppled Assad, is now the de facto leader and is being treated with increasing legitimacy on the world stage. His scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House next week, following his attendance at the COP30 climate conference in Brazil, underscores this changing dynamic.

“The Council is sending a strong political signal that recognizes Syria is in a new era,” said US envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz, following the vote. He praised the new Syrian government’s commitments to counterterrorism, humanitarian access, and political reform, adding, “As President Trump previously indicated, now is Syria’s chance at greatness.”

The resolution, enacted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, emphasizes that the move is consistent with promoting Syria’s “long-term reconstruction, stability and economic development.” It formally welcomes Damascus’s pledges to uphold a series of commitments, including:

• Ensuring safe and unhindered humanitarian access.
• Countering terrorism and foreign fighter networks.
• Eliminating remnants of chemical weapons.
• Advancing an inclusive, Syrian-led political process.

This UN vote follows Washington’s decision in May to lift the bulk of its own unilateral sanctions on Syria, paving the way for this broader international endorsement. While some US congressional measures remain, the Security Council’s action marks a definitive turning point, effectively closing a chapter on the sanctions regime that long defined the Assad era and opening a new, uncertain one for a nation rebuilding from civil war.