Contents

• Overview and Key Developments
• Syria: Profile and Contemporary History
• Political and Security Dynamics
• Transition Framework Emerges, Questions Persist on Inclusion
• U.S. Military Presence Evolves
Political Transition and Consolidation of Authority
• Transitional Government Reasserts Control over Eastern Syria
• Threats from the Islamic State and Other Extremists Persist, Evolve
• Sectarian Violence Threatens Transition, Draws Intervention
• Violence in Coastal Governorates
• Violence in Southern Governorates
• Islamic State (IS) Attacks Demonstrate Enduring Threat
• Syria and the United Nations Security Council
• Humanitarian Crises and Appeals for Assistance
• U.S. Interests and Initiatives
• U.S. Diplomacy
• U.S. Military Operations in Syria and U.S. Partner Forces
• Syria Train and Equip Program FY2025 Funding and FY2026 Legislation
• U.S. Support for IS Prisoner Detention and Camp Management
• U.S. Stabilization and Foreign Assistance
• U.S. Sanctions and Syria
• Sanctions Relief and Remaining Authorities
• U.S. Targeted Terrorism Sanctions
• U.S. Targeted Terrorism Sanctions
• European Union (EU) Sanctions
• U.S. Tariffs
• Admission of U.S. Syrian Partners and Status of Syrian Nationals
Stabilization and Foreign Assistance
• Entry and Presence of Syrians in the United States
• U.S. Sanctions and Syria
• Sanctions Relief and Remaining Authorities
• U.S. Tariffs
• Regional and International Initiatives and Interests
• Legislation and Hearings in the 119^th Congress
• Outlook and Issues Before Congress

Summary

Since the December 2024 collapse of the government of Bashar Al Asad, Syrians have pursued political and economic opportunities created by the end of the country's twelve12-year civil war. Internal tensions and external pressures pose obstacles to the country's transition. Interim presidentTransitional President Ahmed Al Sharaa led a group long designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization and still designated as a specially designated global terrorist entity. He has renounced former ties to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State and met with President Donald Trump in the White House in November 2025terrorist organization. Interim authorities have outlined a five-year transitional constitutional framework after limited consultation with Syrian citizens. Elections are planned in September 2025 for a partially and indirectly elected legislative assembly. The government does not exercise control over all of Syria, with areas of the northeastIndirect elections were held in October 2025 for a transitional legislative assembly; elections were not held in some areas of eastern Syria, which were then under the control of ethnic Kurdish-led forces, and areas southsoutheast of the capital, Damascus, controlled bywhich remain under the control of members of the Druze religious minority. Authorities plan to delay elections in these areas. Turkish forces remain in parts of the north, while Israeli forces have moved into formerly demilitarized areas between Syria and Israel and into some Syrian territory near the frontier. Sectarian violence involving government forces, their backers, and members of minority communities has marred the transition in 2025, highlighting the interim government's limited capacity to ensure security and impose discipline on its forces. In this context, some observers have expressed skepticism about the interimtransitional government's commitments to inclusivity and the protection of all members of Syria's diverse religious and ethnic fabric. Others have warned that domestic and foreign opponents of the interimtransitional government may be exploiting communal tensions to advance their own agendas, and that fragmentation in Syria would threaten regional security.

The Trump Administration has outlined a policy of robust but conditional support for the interimSyria's transitional government, pairing endorsement of its leaders' calls for the maintenance of Syria's unity and territorial integrity with insistence that they adopt a protective and inclusive approach toward all Syrian communities. The United States is supporting dialogue between the interim government and authorities in areas of northeast Syria under the protection of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led coalition that has received U.S. security support since 2015. The SDF remains the principal U.S. partner in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria. U.S. military forces are deployed in eastern and southern Syria, and are implementing Trump Administration directives to consolidate and streamline the U.S. military presence in the countrygovernment and Kurdish forces and political figures that controlled areas of the northeast until government forces advanced in and reasserted control in January 2026. Some U.S. military forces remain deployed in northeast Syria, but U.S. forces withdrew from an outpost in southern Syria in February 2026 and unnamed U.S. officials told press outlets on February 18 that preparations for a full withdrawal of U.S. forces are underway and may be complete within two months. U.S. forces transferred more than 5,700 Islamic State prisoners formerly secured by U.S. partners in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to neighboring Iraq following the Syrian government's 2026 advance. The United States and European Union have extended broad sanctions relief to the interim government in a bid to encourage investment and prevent economic collapse and humanitarian pressures from derailing the transition. Economic conditions across Syria have deteriorated since Asad's fall, with energy shortages and financial pressures limiting recovery efforts. Announced changes to U.S. and international sanctions on Syria since May 2025 have createhave created possibilities for more robust investment, trade, and economic growth, but Syrians are grappling with the negative effects of decades of misrule and sanctions amid the strife and destructive consequences of a decade-plus-long civil war.

Governance and security arrangements between Syria's national government and de facto authorities in northeast and southern Syria remain a central dilemma for transitional leaders and the minority communities in these areas. Neighboring countries, including Turkey and Israel, have security concerns about these regions and are acting inside Syria in pursuit of their preferred outcomes. Turkey opposes Syrian Kurds' aspirations for autonomy or decentralization, citing links between Kurdish elements of the SDF and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The PKK announced in early 2025 that it would dissolve and disarm. In March 2025, the SDF agreed in principle to integrate under the interim government's authority, but SDF figures and others have criticized what they perceive as unilateralism by interim government leaders. Israel has used military force to destroy military equipment and weaponry across Syria since December and to January 2026 SDF-government agreements set terms for the integration of some SDF fighters into special brigades. Israel has struck military targets across Syria since December 2024 to neutralize Syrian capabilities, enforce its desire to see Syria's three southern provincesgovernorates remain a demilitarized zone. Israel also has struck targets in southern Syria, and in Damascus in what it describes as a bid to protect the Syrian Druze minority community. Israel-Turkey tensions over Syria also raise raise continuing risks of confrontation.

In Congress, many Members welcomed the fall of the Asad government and the setbacks it has created for Iran and Russia. Members have debated U.S. policy toward the interimSyrian government, with some advocating for the elimination of remaining U.S. sanctions on Syria and others expressing concern about the intentions and actions of Syria's interimtransitional leaders and calling foradvising a more gradual and conditional approach. President Donald Trump has acted to remove many Asad-era sanctions on Syria using authorities delegated to the President by Congress; President Trump also has revised other Syria-related sanctions mechanisms to preserve his ability to impose new sanctions based on future developments in Syria. Bills introduced in the 119^th Congress would variously rescind (e.g., H.R. 3941 and S. 2133) or amend (H.R. 4427) some laws providing for Syria-related sanctions and would appropriate funds for the conditional provision of foreign assistance in Syria (H.R. 4779) or authorize (H.R. 3838/S. 2296) or appropriate (H.R. 4016/S. 2572) military assistance to U.S. partners in SyriaCongress repealed the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act and has authorized funding for the continued provision of military assistance to U.S. partners, though the future of the U.S. military presence is uncertain. Legislative questions for Congress include whether and on what terms to authorize and appropriate funds for U.S. assistance and security operations in Syria; whether and to what extent to revise or rescindrescind, revise, or reenact laws providing for U.S. sanctions on SyriaSyria-related sanctions; and how best to influence executive branch policies and shape the decisions of Syrian authorities, and U.S. partners and adversaries.

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Overview and Key Developments

The fall of the government led by Bashar Al AsadAl Asad (alt. Assad) family ruled Syria for more than 50 years; its fall in December 2024 marked a dramatic end to a twelve more than 12-year-long conflict in Syria and the conclusion of decades of tension between the United States and the Baath Party-dominated government of Syria, led by the Asad family.¹confrontation between the Syrian government and the United States. Conflict in Syria had displaced millions, killed hundreds of thousands, spurred military intervention by multiple countries, and fueled the rise of the Islamic State organization. The Asad government's hostility to Israel, attempts to dominate neighboring Lebanon, alignment with Russia, partnership with Iran, support for terrorist groups, and development and use of weapons of mass destruction had fueled tensions with the United States for decades. Forces and leaders associated with Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS, aka the Organization for the Liberation of Syria, see Appendix) toppled Asad and have exerted security control over most of western Syria (Figure 1). They also lead the country's transition. HTS had severed its former ties to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, but remained a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization until July 2025.

In January 2025, attendees at a "Victory Conference" of some anti-Asad armed groups appointed HTS leader Ahmed Hussein Al Sharaa (aka Abu Mohammed al Jawlani/Jolani/Golani), a U.S. Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), as Syria's interim president. Many individuals appointed to interim national leadership positions were HTS members or previously served in the HTS-backed Syrian Salvation Government. In conjunction with Sharaa's selection as president, interim authorities rescinded Syria's 2012 constitution and dissolved the former ruling Baath Party, the Asad-era legislature, and the former regime's military and security forces. A brief and partial national dialogue preceded the issuance of a five-year transitional constitutional framework. In March 2025, a new cabinet (Table 1) expanded the interim leadership to include members of some minority groups. Indirect elections for a partially elected parliament are planned for September.

The authorities have declared the dissolution of all military factions, political, and civil revolutionary bodies and called for their integration into state institutions. Progress toward this goal has been uneven. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—a Kurdish-led coalition that has served as the principal U.S. partner against the Islamic State—controls the northeast in partnership with an Autonomous Administration for North and East Syria (AANES). In March 2025, the SDF signed an agreement on integrating with national security forces by the end of 2025. The SDF and AANES seek guarantees of constitutional rights amid threats from the Islamic State and concerns about sectarian violence. Talks have yet to yield further agreement. Turkey and Syria's interim leaders oppose autonomy for SDF-held areas, and Turkish concerns focus on SDF-links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a U.S.-designated terrorist group that is implementing plans to disband. Some southern areas home to the Druze religious minority remain outside national control. Druze groups have debated their relationship with the state, with sectarian clashes and Israeli military intervention in July 2025 driving wider calls for autonomy.

Syria's unresolved internal tensions, the interests of regional and international actors, and the interim authorities' limitations are presenting serious challenges to the transition. According to UN officials, clashes since March 2025 involving state forces, state-aligned armed groups, and some minority communities reportedly killed nearly 3,000 civilians and fighters and displaced more than 200,000 people. The violence has increased global scrutiny of the interim authorities' capabilities and intentions.

• Violence in Syria's western coastal provinces in March and April followed attacks there on government forces by pro-Asad groups and featured retaliatory attacks on Alawite communities by government-aligned groups.² In the wake of that violence, the interim government said it was redoubling its efforts to assert unified security command over armed groups and launched a fact-finding investigation that has delivered its report to the interim authorities.
• Sectarian violence also erupted in southern Syria between members of Druze and Sunni Arab Bedouin communities in April, May, and July.³ The July conflagration in and around the predominantly Druze city of Suweida killed nearly 1,400 combatants and civilians, displaced an estimated more than 185,000 people, and prompted military intervention by Israel.⁴ A ceasefire has held, but is fragile.

The Trump Administration has outlined a policy of conditional support for the interim government, endorsing calls for the maintenance of Syria's unity and territorial integrity while insisting on inclusion and protection for Syrian minority communities. President Trump met Ahmed Al Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May. U.S. officials have strongly condemned sectarian violence, supported de-escalation, and called for transparent investigations and accountability. U.S. officials have supported two dialogue tracks: one between the interim government and authorities in northeast Syria and one between the interim government and Israel. U.S. forces are deployed in eastern and southern Syria, and are consolidating their presence. The United States and European Union have extended sanctions relief to Syria's government to encourage investment, prevent economic collapse, and ease humanitarian pressures.

In Congress, many Members have welcomed the fall of the Asad government and the setbacks it has created for Iran and Russia. Members have debated U.S. policy toward the interim government, with some advocating for the elimination of remaining U.S. sanctions on Syria and others expressing concern about the intentions and actions of Syria's interim leaders and calling for a more gradual and conditional approach.⁵ President Donald Trump has acted to remove many Asad-era sanctions on Syria using authorities delegated to the President by Congress; President Trump also has revised other Syria-related sanctions mechanisms to preserve his ability to impose new sanctions based on future developments. Bills introduced in the 119^th Congress would variously rescind (e.g., H.R. 3941 and S. 2133) or amend (H.R. 4427) some laws providing for Syria-related sanctions, direct the withdrawal of U.S. forces (S.J.Res. 6), appropriate funds for the conditional provision of foreign assistance in Syria (H.R. 4779), or authorize (H.R. 3838/S. 2296) or appropriate (H.R. 4016/S. 4921) funds for military assistance to U.S. partners in Syria.

Figure 1. Syria: Areas of Influence

Source: CRS using Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) reporting to Lead Inspector General, media and social media reporting and Esri and U.S. State Department data. All areas of influence approximate and subject to change.

Syria: Profile and Contemporary History

The area that now comprises Syria was long ruled as part of the Ottoman Empire and was administered by France under a mandate of the League of Nations following the First World War. Its demographic diversity reflects its history over millennia as a regional crossroads and home to a variety of religious, ethnic, and linguistic communities. Contemporary Syria secured its independence as France's post-World War I mandate ended in the 1930s and 1940s; its early history as an independent state was marked by a series of Cold War-influenced coups and regional instability. The Baath (Renaissance) Party seized power in 1963. Wars with Israel in 1948, 1967, and 1973 ended in defeat and resulted in Israeli control of the Golan Heights region.

Former president Bashar al Asad's father—Hafiz al Asad—ruled the country from 1970 until his death in 2000. The Asad family are members of the minority Alawite sect (estimated 15% of the population), which has its roots in Shiite Islam. The Asads cultivated Alawites as a base of support. The government violently suppressed an armed uprising led by the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1980s, killing thousands from the majority Sunni Muslim community. After taking office in 2000, Bashar Al Asad offered and then retracted the prospect of limited political reform, while privileging family members and other Alawite supporters and aligning his government with Iran and Russia and with nonstate actors such as Hamas and Hezbollah in a complex rivalry with the United States and its Arab and non-Arab allies (including Israel). Violence in northeast Syria in 2004 highlighted long-standing and unresolved tensions involving Syria's ethic Kurdish minority. In 2011, Asad met local unrest with military force, sparking an insurgency that spread in 2012 and ignited more than a decade of conflict and foreign intervention.

Figure 2. Syria: At a Glance Map and Data Source: CRS using Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook data, February 2025.

Notes: The United States recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel in 2019. UN Security Council Resolution 497, adopted on December 17, 1981, held that the area of the Golan Heights controlled by Israel's military is occupied territory belonging to Syria.

Figure 2. Syria: At a Glance Map and Data

Source: CRS. Usingtroubled U.S. policymakers for decades. Asad's removal was a setback for some U.S. adversaries, but left many unanswered questions about Syria's future. The country's transition is proceeding under the direction of President Ahmed Al Sharaa, a former Al Qaeda member and leader of the now-disbanded Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS, see Appendix), the Islamist armed group whose late 2024 offensive drove former president Bashar Al Asad into exile. Having asserted a prerogative to set terms for a five-year transitional period with limited input from others, Sharaa and his partners have concentrated decisionmaking among themselves. Transitional authorities have focused on reconstituting national security forces, extending the state's remit to areas that initially were outside of transitional government control, achieving the removal of U.S. and international sanctions, and attracting investment to support Syria's recovery. The United States and some other international actors have removed many Asad-era sanctions on Syria and some counterterrorism sanctions, creating opportunities for economic recovery and engagement. Nevertheless, terrorist threats from the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS/ISIL) and others persist, intercommunal tensions are high, territorial control remains contested, and government capacity is limited. The World Bank estimates Syria's needed reconstruction costs at nearly $216 billion. As of February 2026, UN agencies reported that 1.4 million Syrian refugees had returned to the country since December 2024, but more than 3.7 million remained in regional countries. Additionally, more than 6 million Syrians remained internally displaced as of January 2026. Spasms of violence involving some minority populations have created a series of crises, killing and displacing civilians, and generating scrutiny of transitional leaders. These crises include incidents in Alawite majority areas of coastal western Syria in March 2025 and Druze majority areas of southern Syria in July 2025. In January 2026, the government forcefully reasserted control over several non-Kurdish majority areas that had long been secured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish-led coalition that through 2025 served as the principal U.S. partner force against the Islamic State. U.S.-backed agreements established a ceasefire and set terms for the entry of government forces into Kurdish-majority areas and the integration of some wartime governing bodies and some SDF fighters into national units. The Trump Administration has pursued a policy of conditional support for the transitional government, endorsing Syrian leaders' calls for territorial integrity and the extension of state authority, while insisting the new government protect all Syrian communities. President Trump has met with Ahmed Al Sharaa twice. On February 18, unnamed Administration officials reportedly said that the roughly 1,000 U.S. military personnel remaining in Syria are preparing to leave within two months as part of a "conditions-based" transition.1 Unnamed Syrian sources said the timeline could be as little as one month.2 The U.S. military has completed the transfer of more than 5,700 IS prisoners from Syria to Iraq and has withdrawn from two long-held outposts. Specific plans for the remaining U.S. presence in northeast Syria and the potential for ongoing U.S.-Syria security cooperation are uncertain. Figure 1. Syria: Areas of Influence

Source: CRS using Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) reporting to Lead Inspector General, media and social media reporting, and Esri and U.S. State Department data. All areas of influence approximate and subject to change.

Political and Security Dynamics

On August 21, 2025, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the UN Security Council that Syria "remains deeply fragile and the transition remains on a knife-edge."⁹ The following political and security issues present the principal challenges to stability.

Transition Framework Emerges, Questions Persist on Inclusion

After a series of governorate-level consultations and a National Dialogue conference in Damascus, the interim authorities appointed members of a committee that drafted a five-year transitional constitution. In March, President Ahmed Al Sharaa signed the interim constitutional declaration and named a new transitional cabinet. The interim constitutionJanuary 22, 2026, UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Khaled Khiari told the UN Security Council that "much has been achieved in post-Al-Assad Syria" but warned that the country "remains extremely fragile after 14 years of devastating conflict."⁶ Transitional authorities are adapting preexisting state institutions to the country's postwar realities, incorporating personnel and procedures to keep ministries and agencies functioning and leveraging the powers of the transitional presidency to consolidate and reorganize others and to create new administrative and economic bodies. Measures to promote inclusion, transparency, consultation, and accountability have been enacted but have remained relatively narrow, as authorities consider the pros and cons of expeditious decisionmaking and political pragmatism under conditions where national unity is under strain.

Syria's unresolved internal tensions, the interests of regional and international actors, and the transitional government's limitations have presented serious challenges to the transition. According to UN officials, clashes during 2025 involving state forces, state-aligned armed groups, and some minority communities reportedly killed nearly 3,000 civilians and fighters and displaced more than 200,000 people. The violence increased global scrutiny of the interim authorities' capabilities and intentions.

The following issues present the principal challenges to Syria's stability and the success of its transition.

Political Transition and Consolidation of Authority In January 2025, attendees at a "Victory Conference" of some anti-Asad armed groups appointed HTS leader Ahmed Hussein Al Sharaa (aka Abu Mohammed al Jawlani/Jolani/Golani, see Appendix), as Syria's interim president. Under Al Sharaa's leadership, authorities declared the dissolution of all military factions, political, and civil revolutionary bodies, including HTS, and called for their integration into state institutions. Many individuals appointed to initial interim national leadership positions were former HTS members or previously served in the HTS-backed Syrian Salvation Government that ruled rebel-held areas of northwest Syria. In conjunction with Sharaa's selection as president, the authorities also rescinded Syria's 2012 constitution and dissolved the former ruling Baath Party, the Asad-era legislature, and the former regime's military and security forces. As of February 2026, the UN Panel of Experts on Al Qaeda and the Islamic State reported that a number of member states assessed that HTS "remained in transition and was being absorbed into the new Syrian military and governance structures."⁷ After a series of governorate-level consultations and a National Dialogue conference in Damascus, interim authorities appointed members of a committee that drafted a five-year transitional constitutional declaration. In March 2025, President Sharaa signed the transitional constitutional declaration and named a new transitional cabinet (Table 1), expanding the government's leadership to include members of some minority groups. The transitional constitution declaration recognizes individual rights, including freedom of belief and expression, and states a commitment to preserving the country's territorial integrity, diversity, and social peace. The declaration vests most powers with the interim presidency and states that Arabic is the official language of the state and that Islamic law is the principal source of legislation.¹⁰8 The Kurdish-led administration of northeastern Syria did not participate in the national dialogue and interim constitutional declaration drafting process.

On July 28, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the UN Security Council that "the political transition is not yet fully inclusive. And and called for its reconsideration and a decentralized alternative. Table 1. Syria: Selected Interim Authorities

As of February 12, 2026

President of the Syrian Arab Republic/Commander-in-Chief

Ahmed Al Sharaa

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Asaad Al Shaibani

Minister of Defense

Maj. Gen. Marhaf Abu Qasra

Minister of Interior

Anas Al Khattab

Minister of Finance

Mohammad Yusr Barniya

Minister of Economy

Mohammad Nidal Al Shaar

Minister of Justice

Mazhar Al Weiss

Minister of Energy

Mohammed Al Bashir

Minister of Public Works and Housing

Mustafa Abdulrazak

Minister of Transport

Yarob Badr

Minister of Agriculture

Amjad Badr

Minister of Health

Musaab Nazal Al Ali

Minister of Social Affairs and Labor

Hind Qabawat

Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces

Ali Noureddine Al Nasan

Governor of the Central Bank of Syria

Abdulqader Husrieh

Chargé d'Affaires, A.I. Syrian Embassy to the United States

Mohammad Qanatari

In July 2025, then-UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the UN Security Council that the political transition was "not yet fully inclusive" and he noted that "many Syrians express concern about centralized power, limited transparency, weak checks and balances, and insufficient means for genuine public consultations, participation, and scrutiny."¹¹ Interim authorities have announced their intention to hold9 The government held indirect elections in September for 140October for 119 of 210 seats in a transitional People's Assembly. Of those elected, six are women, one is Christian, three are Ismaili, three are Alawite, four are Kurds, and none are Druze. Twenty-one seats were not filled because of suspensions of the indirect voting process in areas of northeast Syria and Suweida (alt. Suwayda) governorate that were outside the government's control.¹⁰ Following the January 2026 reassertion of Syrian government control over areas of eastern Syria, authorities have said that Popular Assembly elections in those areas will be held when security conditions stabilize.¹¹ President Sharaa is to appoint the remaining 70 members of the Assembly. The indirect method of election and geographic distribution of seats have drawn some attention from election experts.¹² According to UN Deputy Special Envoy Najat Rochdi, "the High Electoral Commission has publicly acknowledged the need to improve representation of communities."¹³

Syria's transitional constitutional declaration may be amended by presidential proposal approved by two-thirds of the Assembly. The president has yet to name members of the Supreme Constitutional Court created under the declaration. The transitional constitution declaration is to be replaced by a permanent constitution drafted by a still-to-be-named drafting committee.

Transitional Government Reasserts Control over Eastern Syria

In January 2026, the government forcefully reasserted control over areas of eastern Syria that until January 2026 were under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The diverse, resource-rich, and strategically located region has been the focal point of U.S. efforts to defeat the Islamic State group since 2015 and is critical to the security of Syria and of neighboring Turkey and Iraq. In March 2025, the SDF signed an agreement on integrating with national security forces by the end of 2025. In subsequent talks with national leaders, the SDF and AANES sought guarantees of constitutional rights amid threats from the Islamic State and concerns about sectarian violence. Turkey and the Syrian transitional government opposed autonomy for SDF-held areas, with Turkish concerns focused on SDF links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a U.S.-designated terrorist group that is implementing plans to disband.¹⁴ As the end of 2025 deadline approached, progress on implementing the March 2025 integration agreement faltered, and clashes between the SDF and the government preceded the government's advance on SDF-held areas.

Under the terms of agreements reached in January 2026 to end fighting between SDF and government forces, the government and local authorities in the northeast are proceeding with the implementation of "an understanding on a phased integration process for the military and administrative forces between the two sides."¹⁵ Specifically, the agreements call for "the formation of a military brigade comprising three regiments from SDF forces" along with a regiment for forces in Kobani/Ayn al Arab under the authority of the Aleppo Governorate military command. The agreements also call for "the integration of self-administration [AANES] institutions within the Syrian state institutions, with the retention of civilian employees" and provide for "settling the civil and educational rights of the Kurdish community, and ensuring the return of the displaced to their areas."

In conjunction with negotiations and fighting that preceded the January 2026 agreements, President Sharaa issued Presidential Decree 13 establishing Kurdish as a national language, providing for Kurdish language education, and invalidating laws that stripped citizenship from some Syrian Kurds. Enduring resolution of these and other long-standing Kurdish communal concerns about governance and resource sharing may require reconciling the varying demands of the politically diverse Syrian Kurdish community with the transitional government's insistence on precluding regional autonomy and identifying Syria as a primarily Arab state. Prior to the government-SDF confrontations, the population of eastern Syria had not been united in support of SDF goals: within SDF-held areas, urban and rural communities have expressed varying needs and concerns, while members of Arab, Turkmen, and Kurdish ethnic groups and members of Christian, Muslim, and secular communities have appeared to have divergent priorities.

Under the January agreements, the two sides have proceeded with the "withdrawal of military forces from points of contact" and the agreed entry of national government forces from the Ministry of Interior into the SDF-held cities of Al Hasakah and Qamishli. The agreements' call for the creation of new brigades may involve individualized vetting and changes to the command and composition of SDF units. The return of displaced persons under the agreements may include the return of Syrian Kurds to areas where property and other intercommunal disputes could erupt.

The United States and the Security of Northeast Syria

Since 2015, the U.S. military has operated in Syria and supported local partner forces to fight the Islamic State. Through 2025, thePeople's Assembly to serve as a legislative body during the transition period. President Al Sharaa is to appoint members to the other 70 seats. The constitutional declaration may be amended by presidential proposal approved by two-thirds of the Assembly.

Arrangements for the holding of indirect elections, including participation standards for electors and administration in areas outside the interim government's security control, have not been finalized. On August 23, a representative of the election committee said that the elections would be delayed indefinitely and seats held open for representatives from Suweida, Raqqa, and Hasakah governorates. The spokesperson said "elections are a sovereign matter that can only be conducted in areas fully under government control."¹² Pedersen told the Security Council on August 21 that any mishandling of the indirect elections or exclusionary implementation "would entrench skepticism, aggravate the forces pulling Syria apart, and impede reconciliation."¹³

U.S. Military Presence Evolves

In December 2024, the Department of Defense reported that approximately 2,000 U.S. military personnel were then deployed in Syria. In April 2025, a Pentagon spokesperson announced the consolidation of U.S. forces in Syria and said "a deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the U.S. footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand U.S. forces in the coming months."¹⁴ He reiterated U.S. support for efforts to combat the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS/ISIL) in Syria, and a media report citing unnamed senior U.S. officials said that U.S. personnel would continue to assist the Kurdish-led SDF and aid SDF detention and camp management efforts. The SDF hold 9,000 IS prisoners and secure camps holding more than 30,000 people.

As of July 2025, some U.S. troops had relocated from areas with Arab-majority populations in the Euphrates River valley (see Figure 1), having closed three bases and "either dismantled and removed or handed over infrastructure to the SDF."¹⁵ The withdrawal of U.S. forces and protection could limit the SDF's effective control over these regions, and the U.S. military expects SDF-local tribe tensions to rise in the area.¹⁶ According to U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Ambassador Tom Barrack, the U.S. military will "eventually go to one" base in Syria.¹⁷ Turkey has sought to partner with Syria's interim government, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon, to establish a multilateral counter-IS mechanism that Turkey hopes could replace the U.S.-led coalition (and the U.S.-SDF partnership).¹⁸ U.S. raids in northern Syria in July and August reportedly killed individuals playing senior roles in IS operations in Syria.¹⁹

Figure 3. Syria: Northeastern Governorates

Source: CRS, using State Department and Esri data. Note: SDF – Syrian Democratic Forces.

The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria or the removal of U.S. assurances of force protection to partner forces could affect various parties' actions, with possible implications for Syrian domestic and regional stability, counterterrorism concerns, and humanitarian needs. Sensitive considerations surround the degree of U.S. protection that might be afforded to SDF forces, who remain in discussions with Damascus over security arrangements and possible integration. Should Syrian government forces attempt to assert control over SDF-held areas by force, the United States may face calls from the SDF and other leaders in northeast Syria to intervene. Tensions between Kurds and Arabs in rural areas of northern and eastern Syria could become a flashpoint, and Turkish and interim government opposition to continued SDF control complicates matters further. U.S. Special Envoy Barrack visited Damascus on July 9 to support SDF talks with the interim government, but no progress was reported.

Sectarian Violence Threatens Transition, Draws Intervention

Several instances of sectarian violence involving members of minority communities, Syrian security forces, nonstate armed groups, and armed vigilantes have threatened Syria's stability since Marchin 2025. Aggravating factors have included the interimSyrian government's imperfect command and control mechanisms, extremists' presence in some security force units and other armed groups, the proliferation of arms among the population, and volatile, conflict-fueled communal tensions. Social media dynamics, misinformation, and foreign intervention have exacerbated conditions further. InterimTransitional leaders' rhetoric and some government actions have prioritized de-escalation and civilian protection, and leaders have promised fact-finding and accountability. Nevertheless, the government has failed to prevent widespread violations against civilians, including some undertaken by government units or government-aligned actors. Attacksthe government has created bodies that have undertaken fact-finding investigations and are pursuing legal accountability for some perpetrators. The dynamics of integrating or demobilizing armed Islamist fighters and ensuring their respect for command and control and for the rights of civilians pose fundamental security and political challenges for Syrian authorities. In monitoring the situation and engaging U.S. officials and Members of Congress, some observers have focused on the government's failure to prevent violations against civilians, including violations by government units or government-aligned actors. Others have noted attacks on government forces and civilians perpetrated by some minority community armed groups have contributed to ongoing cycles of violence. Some Druze have called for foreign intervention, including by Israel, to ensure their protection. Others have rejected outside involvement and separatist rhetoric, while condemning government violations and failures.

Violence in Coastal Governorates

Figure 4. Syria: Coastal Governorates

Source: CRS, using State Department and Esri data.

In March and Aprilas contributing to cycles of violence. Complicating matters further, some members of Syria's Alawite, Kurdish, and Druze communities have called for decentralized rule and the preservation of local security forces in the wake of intercommunal violence. Some Druze have called for foreign intervention, including by Israel, to ensure their protection, and some Kurdish groups appealed to U.S officials and Kurdish counterparts outside of Syria in the midst of SDF-government fighting in December 2025 and January 2026. Other members of these communities have rejected outside involvement and separatist rhetoric, while condemning government violations and failures. The Syrian transitional government has acknowledged shortcomings and pledged to protect all Syrians while implementing agreements reached with minority communities since March 2025. Violence in Coastal Governorates In March and April 2025, attacks by pro-Asad groups prompted a response by security forces that devolved into attacks on some Alawite communities by some state units, government-aligned groups, and vigilantes. A UN report issued in August 2025 detailsdetailed eyewitness accounts of house-to-house killings, beatings, and lootings targeting Alawites, including the abuse and summary execution of Alawite men by individuals wearing military clothing without insignia.²⁸34 The report concluded that parallel hostilities were occurring between the interim government and pro-Asad armed groups at the time, and found that

there are reasonable grounds to believe that individual members of certain factions of the security forces of the interim government ... as well as private individuals participating in hostilities engaged in acts that amounted to violations and international humanitarian law, including acts that may amount to war crimes, as well as serious violations of international human rights law.

Figure 3. Syria: Coastal Governorates

Source: CRS, using State Department and Esri data.

The report acknowledgedThe report acknowledges measures by the interim government during and since the violence to prevent further violations and "found no evidence of a governmental policy or plan to carry out such attacks." President Sharaa personally condemned the violence and vowed to hold those responsible accountable. In the wake of the violence in western coastal areas, the interim government said it would redouble its efforts to assert unified security command over armed groups and launched a fact-finding investigation that has delivered its report to the authorities.²⁹ That report remained unpublished in August. 35 The UN report statesstated that, when interviewed, residents of the coastal provinces were not aware of any actions by interim authorities to criminally investigate any individual incidents that took place during the violence.

Violence in Southern Governorates

Authorities since have undertaken investigations and pursued court proceedings for individuals suspected of involvement in the violence, including some security force personnel. In November 2025, a court in Aleppo heard arguments from seven security force personnel and seven alleged Asad loyalists accused of involvement in the violence. Investigators have referred more than 560 individuals for prosecution in connection with the March-April incidents.

On December 26, an attack on an Alawite mosque in Homs killed and injured civilians; Saraya Ansar al Sunnah, an armed group founded by extremist former members of HTS, claimed responsibility. The group has claimed a series of arson, assassination, and bombing attacks targeting Alawite, Shia, and Christian communities since early 2025. Protests in Alawite areas of coastal and western Syria followed the Homs attack, with demonstrators calling for the protection of minority communities and some advancing calls for federalism. Syrian authorities blamed former regime members for shooting attacks during the protests that killed Interior Security Force (ISF) personnel and prompted the deployment of military forces and the imposition of a curfew. Media reporting has identified former Asad regime officers outside of Syria who are suspected of involvement in instigating sectarian violence and targeting government forces.³⁶

Violence in Southern Governorates

Figure 4. Syria: Southern Governorates

Source: CRS, using State Department and Esri data.

The extent of national authorities' control over armed groups and their commitment to civilian protection came under renewed scrutiny as sectarian violence involving members of Druze and Sunni Arab communities erupted in southern Syria in April, May, and July 2025. Strained relationships between Druze communities and their Sunni Arab neighbors flared south of Damascus in April and May after criminal incidents and false social media reports about religiously antagonistic statements led armed groups to mobilize. In July, latent tensions between Bedouin and Druze communities in and around the predominantly Druze city of Suweida spilled over into clashes that drew in tribal fighters, security forces, and Druze militia. The violence killed nearly 1,400 combatants and civilians, displaced an estimated more than 185,000 people, and prompted military intervention by Israel, including Israeli strikes on the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Damascus.³⁰

37 As of January 2026, the UN reported that "155,000 people who have been uprooted since July 2025 cannot return home owing to the fragile security situation."³⁸

The UN Human Rights Office cited credible reports of "widespread violations and abuses" attributed to "members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim authorities, as well as other armed elements from the area, including Druze and Bedouins."³¹39 Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on the interim authorities to "hold accountable and bring to justice anyone guilty of atrocities including those in their own ranks."³²40 The interim government formed a committee to investigate the violence, and in September, a committee spokesman said an unspecified number of defense and interior security personnel "were detained by the interior and defense ministries to be transferred to the judiciary when the investigations are concluded to be publicly tried for the crimes they committed against Syrians."³³41 A ceasefire has provided for the entry of Ministry of Interior forces into some areas of Suweida province in coordination with local Druze militia groups.

Figure 5. Syria: Southern Governorates

Source: CRS, using State Department and Esri data.

As of September, a ceasefire has provided for the entry of Ministry of Interior forces into some areas of Suweida province in coordination with local Druze militia groups. Humanitarian access to Suweida remains limited, and Syrian and Israeli officials met in Paris to discuss related concerns. On August 10, the UN Security Council released a presidential statement calling on all parties to ensure humanitarian access and on the government to "to ensure credible, swift, transparent, impartial, and comprehensive investigations, in line with international standards" and to "ensure accountability and bring all perpetrators of violence to justice regardless of their affiliation."³⁴

Druze militias and community leaders have at times appeared to hold differing views on relations with national authorities and with Israel, with some advocating for de-escalation and cooperation and others expressing skepticism about the interim authorities' intentions and welcoming foreign protection.³⁵42 In August 2025, leading Druze religious figures for the first time released consistent statements condemning sectarian attacks against the Druze, criticizing the interim authorities, and calling for humanitarian relief for Druze areas.³⁶43 Following pro-independence protests by some in Suweida city, Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat Al Hijri announced the alignment of several Druze militia forces under a National Guard, and Hijri has called for Suweida to be treated as a separate region.³⁷ On August 21, UN Special Envoy Pedersen said that while violence near Suweida "has largely subsided following a ceasefire, the threat of renewed conflict is ever-present – as are the political centrifugal forces that threaten Syria's sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity."³⁸ The UN Security Council has called on "all states to refrain from any action or interference that may further destabilize the country."³⁹

Islamic State (IS) Attacks Demonstrate Enduring Threat

U.S. officials and UN experts report that IS fighters, Al Qaeda linked groups, and other extremists are seeking to exploit fragile security conditions in Syria to reinvigorate their ranks. The July 2025 monitoring report by the UN panel on Al Qaeda and the Islamic State confirms that IS fighters have seized stockpiles of heavy weapons from Asad regime stockpiles and have undertaken prison breaks freeing some of their imprisoned members and other extremists.⁴⁰ The report estimates that "more than 5,000" foreign terrorist fighters remain at large in Syria.

Independent observers have catalogued more than 100 attacks attributed to the Islamic State group in eastern and central Syria in 2025, including attacks on interim government forces and SDF forces.⁴¹ Most of these attacks occurred in Deir-ez-Zor governorate in eastern Syria, but some occurred near Palmyra in central Syria and in remote areas patrolled by U.S.-backed Syrian Free Army forces based at Al Tanf in south-central Syria. A May 2025 IS statement condemned President Al Sharaa as an apostate and called on foreign fighters and others disillusioned by the interim government's policies to reconcile and integrate with IS forces in rural areas.⁴²

The SDF continues to detain approximately 9,000 IS prisoners, which the Department of Defense describes as "the largest concentration of ISIS fighters globally."⁴³ According to U.S. officials in a March 2025 report, the SDF is "fully capable of maintaining security at detention facilities while addressing external threats" but "the SDF guard force is frequently pulled away to address security demands caused by instability in the region."⁴⁴ After President Trump met President Al Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May 2025, a U.S. official said President Trump had urged Sharaa to (among other things) "assume responsibility for ISIS detention centers in Northeast Syria."⁴⁵

SDF-secured camps at Al Hol and Roj house IS family members and other individuals displaced from the final areas retaken from IS forces in March 2019 (Figure 6). U.S. officials continue to encourage countries to repatriate their nationals from the camps. Under SDF-interim authority arrangements, some formerly IS-associated Syrian non-combatants have returned to Syrian communities. Repatriations to Iraq from Syria also have increased in 2025. SDF and UN authorities have set a goal of completing repatriations and returns by the end of 2025.

Syria and the United Nations Security Council

In 2025, the UN Security Council has 44

Since December 2025, intermittent resurgent violence involving Druze communities near Suweida has occurred, killing ISF personnel and local Druze fighters and civilians. In January 2026, UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari "noted with concern the unresolved differences and escalating rhetoric in Suwayda Governorate."⁴⁵ He said, "Sporadic armed clashes between Syrian forces and local groups and militia are concerning, as are the reported intra-Druze tensions, including detentions and assassinations, in areas of Suwayda outside of Government control."

Syria and the United Nations Security Council In August 2025, the UN Security Council called for "an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process facilitated by the United Nations and based on key principles" in Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015).⁴⁶ These include "commitments to Syria's unity, independence, territorial integrity, and non-sectarian character," "credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance," and, eventually, "free and fair elections" under a new constitution.⁴⁷

In August 2025 and February 2026, the UN Security Council called on all states to respect Syria's "sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity" and "refrain from any action or interference that may further destabilize the country."⁴⁸ UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen of Norway retired in September 2025; Deputy Special Envoy Claudio Cordone of Italy is the acting UN head of mission for Syria.⁴⁹

Permanent members of the Security Council differed sharply over developments in Syria from 2011 through 2024. Differences in emphasis have persisted following Asad's departure, though the permanent members continueCouncil continues to make common reference to the principles of Resolution 2254 and call for civilian protection, territorial unity, and inclusive governance.⁴⁸50 The United States, United Kingdom, and France have engaged with interim authorities to support the transition and have supported conditional sanctions relief for Syrian state entities. Russia seeks to preserve its military basing access in Syria and has expressed concern about attacks on minorities, the presence and actions of foreign terrorist fighters, and Israeli military operations. The People's Republic of China has echoed these latter concerns, while highlighting the presence in Syria of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, an armed Islamist extremist group composed of ethnic Uighur and Central Asian fighters. Counterterrorism continues to provide some basis for Council consensus, but to date the Council has not revised its positions in the form of a new comprehensive resolution on Syria.

Russia and China blocked efforts in the Council to impose UN sanctions on the Syrian government and Syrian officials related to conduct during the 2011-2024 conflict, but the Council did impose targeted counterterrorism sanctions on some Syria-based groups and individuals, including HTS and Ahmed Al Sharaa.⁴⁹ In a November 2025 vote, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2799, a U.S.-sponsored resolution removing Sharaa and interim interior minister Anas Khattab from the UN's Islamic State and Al Qaeda sanctions list. As of February 2026, HTS remained listed. In a December 2024 interview, Sharaa expressed his hope that Syrians would not be unduly constrained by Asad-era UN resolutions and international sanctions, and he asserted Syrians' collective responsibility for solving their issues internally, while also welcoming international support.⁵⁰51 Sharaa has argued that Asad's departure obviates international calls for negotiation with Asad-era entities and that the interimthe transitional authorities are empowered to establish conditions allowing for the return of Syrian refugees and to define and implement a transition in line with the spirit of Resolution 2254.

The UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen of Norway, hasPrior to his September 2025 resignation, former UN Special Envoy Pedersen acknowledged that Resolution 2254's specific calls for UN-facilitated negotiations "are were "no longer relevant," while reiterating Security Council statements emphasizing the importance of Syria's sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity, and calling for an inclusive and Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process.⁵¹ Pedersen has highlighted52 Deputy Special Envoy Cordone and other UN officials have continued to highlight the risks of renewed conflict posed by the unresolved status of northeast Syria and by tensions in southern Syria, and he hashave called for negotiated solutions and an end to military intervention by outside actors.⁵² In April, Pedersen criticized what he described as Israel's "repeated and intensifying military escalations" in Syria, saying, "such actions undermine efforts to build a new Syria at peace with itself and the region, and destabilize Syria at a sensitive time."⁵³

Pedersen has cited Syrian and international concerns about "the inclusion of foreign fighters in the senior ranks of the new armed forces, as well as individuals associated with violations."⁵⁴ In August 2025 he expressed "grave concern over the acute threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters at large in Syria."⁵⁵

Pedersen has identified the inclusivity of a planned committee to draft a permanent constitution, the definition of mechanisms for achieving popular endorsement of such a constitution, the holding of inclusive indirect elections for an interim legislative body, and the ultimate holding of free and fair elections as critical to Syria's transition and the principles of Resolution 2254.53 In briefings to the Security Council since January 2026, Deputy Special Envoy Cordone and UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari have criticized Israeli incursions in southern Syria, reiterated the UN Secretary-General's call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas entered after December 8, 2004, and have expressed support for Syrian-Israeli talks to identify mutually acceptable security arrangements.⁵⁴

Humanitarian Crises and Appeals for Assistance

UN agencies estimate that nearly 7.1more than 6 million Syrians are internally displaced (of whom 1.42 million were in organized displacement sites as of AugustDecember 2025).⁵⁶55 According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of August 21, 4.19February 12, 3.7 million Syrians were registered as refugees in regional countries. UNHCR reports that more than 821,00056 UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) report that more than 1.44 million Syrians have returned to Syria through neighboring countries since December 2024, and more than 1.7394 million internally displaced Syrians have returned to their homes in the same period.⁵⁷ UN agencies estimate that 16.5 million Syrians areAccording to UN surveys, among the obstacles and challenges facing returnees are security concerns, inadequate infrastructure, and limited economic opportunity and financial liquidity in Syria, along with damage to personal property, lack of civil or legal documentation, family relocation, transportation costs, and debts incurred abroad. UN agencies estimated in 2025 that 16.5 million Syrians were in need of some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, nearly half of whom arewere children.⁵⁸

In March 2025, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said humanitarian providers were being forced to make "brutal choices," citing a trend of unmet appeals that caused reductions in the humanitarian response during 2024 "by more than half."⁵⁹ The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has reportedin 2025 described the negative effects of a what its officials described as a "catastrophic drop in funding," reporting that health, education, protection, and food services have beenwere disrupted across Syria due to limited funding of 2025 appeals and additional funding cuts, including the termination of some U.S. aid programs.⁶⁰ UNOCHA officials have described the negative effects of a what they describe as a "catastrophic drop in funding" to the UN Security Council and report that global donors have funded 14% of the 2025 UN appeal for $3.2 billion through December 2025.⁶¹ The UN system has identified response priorities through December 2025 and intends to conduct a Multi-Sector Needs Assessment to support planning for 2026.⁶²

The Asad government's collapse obviated the obstacles and bureaucratic restrictions the former government had imposed on the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Syria. Syria's interim security authorities have taken control of most border crossings, though large areas of northeast Syria adjacent to Turkey and Iraq are outside of their de facto control. Cross-border UN relief operations from Turkey have been extended, and goods may enter the country from functioning crossings with Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. UN agencies report that Syrian authorities are allowing Syrian refugees to enter and exit the country. According to UN surveys, among the obstacles and challenges facing returnees are security concerns, inadequate infrastructure, and limited economic opportunity and financial liquidity in Syria, along with damage to personal property, lack of civil or legal documentation, family relocation, transportation costs, and debts incurred abroad.

U.S. Interests and Initiatives

In January 2026, UNOCHA reported that global donors had funded 36% of the 2025 UN appeal for $3.2 billion, leading UN agencies and partners to prioritize monthly assistance for 3.4 million people out of 10.3 million identified as being in critical need.⁶¹ UN system planning and priorities for 2026 should be informed by multisector needs assessments completed in 2025.⁶² U.S. Interests and Initiatives

As of February 2026, developments in Syria's post-Asad transition and changes to security arrangements in northeast Syria may pose at least three sets of questions for the future of U.S. policy in the country:

• What is the future of the U.S. military presence and security assistance in Syria? Should U.S. forces stay or go? Should U.S. assistance continue? To whom and on what terms?
• Should the United States seek to shape the direction and outcomes of Syria's transition? If so, toward what objectives and with what means?
• How can the United States best respond to interventions in Syria by other actors that may jeopardize Syria's security and threaten U.S. interests?

The Trump Administration and Congress face these types questions in a context defined by the history of U.S.-Syrian relations, Syria's decade-plus-long conflict, and their assessment of Syria's post-Asad transition. For decades, U.S.-Syrian ties were strained and, since 1979, the United States has designated Syria as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. The former Syrian government's hostility to Israel, its attempts to dominate neighboring Lebanon, its alignment with Russia, its partnership with Iran, its support for terrorist groups, and its development and use of weapons of mass destruction all fueled tension between the United States and Syria until the fall of Asad's regime in late 2024. In post-Asad Syria, counterterrorism, nonproliferation, civilian protection, and regional security concerns endure and may inform future U.S. policy choices.

Congress and successive U.S. Administrations imposed and maintained a range of bilateral sanctions on Syria and targeted sanctions on entities and individuals (see "U.S. Sanctions and Syria" below). After the onset of the anti-Asad uprising in 2011 and the outbreak of conflict, the United States and European countries imposed additional, more punishing sanctions on the Syrian government and individuals and entities supporting it. The Trump Administration has pursued a policy of engagement and conditional support toward the interimSyria's transitional government, removing many U.S. sanctions (and stating an intent to rescind Syria's state sponsor of terrorism designation).

The duration, severity, and effects of conflict in Syria have created some actual and potential threats for U.S., European, and regional security related to terrorism, weapons proliferation, the use of chemical weapons, military intervention, drug trafficking, and mass migration. In this context, successive Administrations and Congress have prioritized the following issues:

Counterterrorism. The former Syrian government's support for terrorism and the exploitation of Syrian territory by transnational terrorist groups to recruit, train, equip, raise funds, and plan attacks have been focal points for U.S. policymakers since before 2011. U.S. government reporting has described how Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, Hezbollah and other Iran-backed U.S.-designated terrorist groups, and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have used Syria to further their aims, some with the active support of the Asad government.⁶³ Syria-based members of terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State, have used Syria "to plot or inspire external terrorist operations."⁶⁴ U.S. and partner force operations ended the Islamic State's control of populated territories in Syria in March 2019, but remnants of the group have continued to operate from remote areas in central Syria. IS fighters have and now reportedly have infiltrated urban areas across the country. Through 2025, IS fighters attempted to break prisoners and family members out of U.S. partner-secured prisons and camps and have attacked Syrian communities and U.S. partners. In 2024, IS attacks increased in Syria relative to previous years, and, according to U.S. officials, as the Asad regime fell IS fighters "exploited the chaos to acquire some quantities of weapons and supplies from supply depots abandoned by regime forces."⁶⁵

Syria's interim authorities Syria's transitional authorities have joined the Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State and, with reported intelligence support from the United States, have disrupted attempted IS attacks that could have exacerbated sectarian tensions in post-Asad Syria.⁶⁶ 65 U.S., UN, and other international officials have expressed concern about the presence in Syria of foreign terrorist fighters and the integration into Syrian security forces of foreign individuals and fighters. The interimtransitional government has appointed foreign nationals to leadership roles in its security structures, and, according to UN reporting, "many tactical-level individuals hold more extreme views" than interim government leaders.⁶⁷ Interim66 Syrian authorities reportedly have argued that integrating anti-Asad fighters, including some foreign fighters, into national forces is preferable to dangers that might arise from their exclusion. U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Ambassador Tom Barrack reportedly said in June 2025 that the United States and Syria havehad reached "an understanding, with transparency" on the issue, after previous reports suggested U.S. urging of interim authoritiesthe transitional government to exclude foreign fighters.⁶⁸ Some67 The Syrian leaders and othergovernment and some individuals and entities active in Syria remain subject to U.S. and UN terrorism sanctions (see "U.S. Sanctions and Syria" below).

Foreign Military Access and Basing. Since 2011, the presence and operations in Syria of foreign military forces from Russia, Iran, Turkey, Israel, and the United States and its partners have reflected the differing priorities and goals of outside actors in the country. U.S. policymakers may consider whether or how the continued operations in Syria of U.S. and coalition forces, Turkish forces, Russian forces, and Israeli forces affect U.S. interests. U.S. officials also may monitor and seek to shape the policies of Syrian interim authorities toward foreign military forces, including U.S. forces, Russian forces invited to Syria by the Asad government, and Israeli forces operating in and beyond the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force zone in the Golan Heights established in the 1974 Israel-Syria Disengagement Agreement.authorities toward these forces; Syria's interim authoritiesleaders say they seek to establish normal diplomatic and security relationships with foreign countries—including their former Russian and Iranian adversaries—on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty and noninterference. Syrian and Israeli officials met in Paris in August 2025 to discuss deconfliction and de-escalation following Israeli airstrikes on Syrian forces in July, including in Damascus, and Israeli operations in the Golan region and near the Lebanon-Israel-Syria tri-border. In a February 2025 interview, Ahmed Al Sharaa said "any military presence should be with the agreement of the host state."⁶⁹

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Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Asad government's domestic use of chemical weapons against its armed opponents and civilians drew international condemnation and motivated U.S. military strikes in 2017 and 2018. In December 2024, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said "significant concerns persist regarding the accuracy and completeness" of the former government's declarations to the agency, "as well as the fate of substantial quantities of unaccounted-for chemical weapons."⁷⁰69 Outstanding issues of concern reported to the OPCW Secretariat prior to Asad's ouster "involved large quantities of potentially undeclared or unverified chemical warfare agents and chemical munitions."⁷¹

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The interim authorities have informed the OPCW that they lack the information and expertise to definitively identify and declare all chemical-weapons-related locations and materials. According to the OPCW, "in addition to 26 declared chemical weapons-related locations, information available to the Secretariat indicates that over 100 additional locations may have been involved in activities related to chemical weapons."⁷¹ The OPCW Office of Special Missions, established in June 2025, coordinates and implements OPCW activities, and the OPCW reestablished a continuous presence in Syria in October 2025.

In March 2025, interim Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shaibani participated in an OPCW meeting and stated the interim government's commitment "to destroy any remains of the chemical weapons programme developed under the Assad regime, to put an end to this painful legacy, to bring justice to victims, and to ensure that the compliance with international law is a solid one."⁷² The OPCW since has deployed Declaration Assessment Team and Office of Special Missions personnel to Syria with the support of the interim government. The personnel have visited some declared and suspected chemical weapons program locations with Syrian government assistance and have reported their findings to the OPCW and the interim government.

The interim authorities have informed the OPCW that they lack the information and expertise to definitively identify and declare all chemical weapons related locations and materials, and the OPCW has estimated that experts will "need to visit and assess more than 100 additional locations across the Syrian Arab Republic, including military facilities, airfields, and research centres, all of which may be in varied, and hazardous, states of disarray, damage, or destruction."⁷³ The OPCW estimates that additional donor country contributions of 33.1 million euros will be required for Syria-related activities through 2027.

Syrian authorities regularly.⁷³ The OPCW regularly requests that Syrian authorities keep it apprised of any information on sites, materials, personnel, or documents related to chemical weapons issues, and the government has provided documents and other information to OPCW teams.

As of January 2026, the OPCW estimated that additional donor country contributions of 16.8 million euros would be required to support its Syria-related activities through 2027.⁷⁴

Conventional Weapons and Regional Security. The influx of weapons to Syria and their wide distribution in-country since 2011 present enduring threats to Syria's internal security and to the security of Syria's neighbors. Criminal groups, extremist organizations, and non-statenonstate armed groups, including some aligned with Iran and Turkey, have benefitted from the proliferation of small arms and military weapons during the conflict. In addition, unexploded ordnance, mines, and other explosive remnants of war pose risks to Syrian civilians and international actors across Syria. InterimTransitional authorities' ability and willingness to assert control over weapons stockpiles associated with the former government may be limited or vary in different areas. Israel has acted to destroy advanced conventional weapons and military air defense and air domain awareness systems across Syria since December 2024, citing potential risks to Israel's security.⁷⁴

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Drug Trafficking. The Asad government enabled and profited from the production and smuggling of drugs across the Middle East, especially the drug captagon.⁷⁵76 Congress sought to limit the Asad government's ability to profit from the captagon trade. In the 117^th Congress, the Countering Assad's Proliferation Trafficking and Garnering of Narcotics Act (H.R. 6265, also known as the CAPTAGON Act) was introduced by Representative French Hill in December 2021, passed by the House in September 2022, and incorporated into the FY2023 NDAA (Section 1238 of P.L. 117-263). It has required the development and submission to Congress of an interagency plan to disrupt captagon trafficking and build regional counterdrug capacity. Interim authorities haveThe transitional government has pledged to dismantle captagon production and smuggling networks and cooperate with regional countries to halt the flow of the drug across Syria's borders. Arrests of criminals, including drug traffickers, are being publicized by interimSyrian authorities. Criminal networks' loss of captagon trade revenues may add to economic pressures in some areas of Syria.

Human Rights and Syrian Minorities. The Asad government's use of military force to repress demonstrations led many Syrians, the United States, and other countries in 2011 to call for Asad's departure. The Asad government's subsequent use of torture, chemical weapons, and its mass execution of prisoners continue to drive Syrian and international calls for accountability. InterimTransitional authorities have made statements calling for inclusive governance and respect for religious tolerance, and U.S. and other international officials have called on interim Syrian leaders to fulfill these commitments. U.S. officials have condemned attacks on minority communities, including by members of or forces associated with the interim government (see "Political and Security Dynamics" above). Some members of minority communities in northeast and southern Syria have expressed support for decentralized governance and appear to remain skeptical of interim authorities'the transitional government's intentions.

The State Department in 2023 designated HTS as an entity of particular concern pursuant to the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (P.L. 114-281), and reported in 2025 that "armed terrorist groups, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, reportedly carried out arbitrary detentions and subjected some detainees to torture" during 2024.⁷⁶77 The State Department's annual human rights report on conditions in Syria during 2024 cites UN Commission of Inquiry for Syria reporting and other human rights organizations' reporting alleging the involvement of SDF, HTS, and Turkey-backed SNASyrian National Army forces in a range of human rights abuses and violations. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended in its 2025 annual report that HTS be redesignated.

U.S. Diplomacy

Since President Donald Trump's May 2025 meeting in Saudi Arabia with Ahmed Al Sharaa and President Trump's announcement of his intent to rescind U.S. sanctions on Syria signaled a new approach in U.S. policy toward Syria. High level U.S. engagement and substantial sanctions relief have been presented, the United States has provided high-level engagement and substantial sanctions relief to the Syrian government, presenting these changes as a conditional opportunity for Syrians and transitional leaders to rebuild and reorganize while interim authorities demonstrating, reorganize, and demonstrate their intentions toward ethnic and religious minority groups, terrorist threats, and Syria's neighbors. The Trump Administration's engagement builds on initial contacts made and steps taken by the previous Administration in the wake of Asad's departure.⁷⁷ In 2025, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Ambassador Tom Barrack and some Members of Congress have visited Syria.

In May, the Trump Administration took steps to waive and relieve some U.S. sanctions on Syria and in June and July the Administration rescinded and revised executive orders providing for many U.S. sanctions on Syria and revoked the designation of HTS as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. As of September, the group, Sharaa, and Interior Minister Anas Khattab remain listed as terrorist entities pursuant to Executive Order 13224, and remain subject to UN sanctions78 U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack serves as U.S. Special Envoy to Syria and has engaged regularly and directly with Syrian leaders and regional leaders in support of agreements to end intra-Syrian violence and reach mutually agreed security arrangements in areas subject to foreign intervention. President Sharaa visited the United States in November 2025 and met again with President Trump at the White House (Figure 5).

The United States suspended operations at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus in 2012; the Czech Republic serves as the U.S. protecting power in Syria. OnIn May 292025, Ambassador Barrack and other officials raised the U.S. flag at the U.S. diplomatic residence in Damascus for the first time since 2012.⁷⁸79 The Trump Administration has not announced any planpublicly announced plans to return U.S. personnel to Syria on an enduring basis, and the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act requires the Administration to report on security conditions necessary for the reopening of a U.S. diplomatic mission in Damascus.

Figure 5. President Donald Trump Hosts President Ahmed Al Sharaa

November 10, 2025

Source: Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic.

In March 2014, the State Department suspended the operations of the Syrian embassy in Washington, DC, and those of Syrian consulates in Michigan and Texas, and expelled Syrian staff. In conjunction with the visit of President Sharaa to Washington, DC, in November 2025, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shaibani reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had transmitted an approval that "provides for the lifting of all previously imposed legal measures and restrictions against the Syrian Mission and the Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic by the United States of America."⁸⁰ According to a press report citing unnamed Syrian officials, Mohammad Qanatari has been appointed as Syria's chargé d'affaires in Washington, DC.⁸¹

U.S. Military Operations in Syria U.S. forces operated in Syria from 2014 through 2025 pursuant to the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Congress repealed the 2002 AUMF in the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act. U.S. operations in Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) seek the enduring defeat of the Islamic State. Press reports suggest that approximately 1,000 U.S. military personnel remain in Syria and unnamed U.S. officials have said that U.S. forces are preparing to withdraw. U.S. forces withdrew from their outpost at Al Tanf in southern Syria and the Al Shaddadi outpost in eastern Syria in February 2026. Most U.S. forces in Syria have been deployed in northeast Syria in support of the SDF; ongoing changes to security control and responsibilities there between the SDF and government forces may face challenges, particularly as national forces move into SDF-held areas, border security mechanisms are established, and SDF forces are integrated under national command. Any resulting violence could disrupt the region's fragile stability. A U.S. agreement with neighboring Iraq provides for the continued presence in northern Iraq to conduct Syria-related counter-IS operations through September 2026. Prospects for the renewal or revision of this agreement remain uncertain as Iraq continues its government formation consultations following its November 2025 election. Syria Train and Equip Program FY2025 Funding and FY2026 Legislation

The Syria Train and Equip program, authorized by Congress since 2014 and funded via the Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund (CTEF) defense appropriation, has sought to sustain the defeat of the Islamic State in Syria by enabling Syrian partner forces, primarily the SDF. In 2024, Congress appropriated $147.9 million in FY2025 CTEF funds for Syria programs available through September 2026. The FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act extended authorities for U.S. train and equip programs in Syria through December 2026, and amends notice and wait procedures to require reporting to Congress on vetting arrangements for groups or individuals associated with Syria's transitional government. The act also requires reporting on IS detention facilities in Syria, U.S. force posture and activities in Syria, and security conditions necessary for the reopening of a U.S. diplomatic mission in Damascus.⁸²

The Trump Administration's FY2026 defense appropriations request sought nearly $130 million for CTEF programs in Syria, including training and equipping, logistical support, stipends, repair, and sustainment investments to support primarily SDF-affiliated paramilitary, internal security, and detention personnel. The FY2026 defense appropriations act (Division A of P.L. 119-75) appropriates funds for Syria at the requested level available through FY2027 and rescinds $50 million in FY2025 appropriations from the CTEF account.

The Administration has not publicly clarified how, if at all, its plans for the implementation of train and equip activities in Syria may change given changes to the roles and responsibilities of SDF and transitional government forces in northeastern Syria and the withdrawal of U.S. forces from southern Syria. As discussed above, the January 2026 SDF-Damascus agreement calls for the integration of some SDF personnel into units of the Syrian security forces, but specific plans for implementation, command, and vetting have not been announced. U.S.-supported Syrian Free Army forces in southern Syria continue to integrate with national forces. The FY2026 defense appropriations act includes a waiver authority to allow for the provision of assistance to vetted Syrian forces notwithstanding other provisions of law that restrict U.S. assistance and transactions with Syria because of Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

U.S. Stabilization and Foreign Assistance

U.S. stabilization and foreign assistance programs in Syria have been curtailed following the Trump Administration's 2025 review of U.S. foreign assistance activities and implementation of agency reorganization plans and staff relocations. According to lead inspector general reporting to Congress, as of June 30, all USAID stabilization programming in Syria had been terminated.⁸³ Some State Department stabilization programs were continued, but may end to the extent that they have focused on support to local authorities in northeastern Syria that are implementing integration agreements with the national government.⁸⁴ USAID humanitarian assistance activities were paused in early 2025. Some were restarted under State Department management and others were terminated.⁸⁵ The Trump Administration has provided congressional committees of jurisdiction with updated lists of assistance programs in Syria that it has terminated and preserved.

The Trump Administration's FY2026 budget request for foreign assistance did not include a specific amount for Syria programs, but, consistent with the prior Administration's requests, sought authority notwithstanding other provisions of law to provide "non-lethal stabilization assistance for Syria, including for emergency medical and rescue response and chemical weapons investigations."⁸⁶ The National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026 (Division F of P.L. 119-75) includes this language, and makes funds available for aid to ethnic and religious minorities in Syria.

Entry and Presence of Syrians in the United States

In December, President Trump announced his decision "to fully restrict and limit the entry of nationals" of Syria, including immigrants and nonimmigrants, saying the country "lacks an adequate central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures."⁸⁷ The Trump Administration terminated the designation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status effective November 21, 2025.⁸⁸ More than 50,000 Syrian nationals had been admitted to the United States as refugees from FY2014 through FY2024.⁸⁹

to return U.S. personnel to Syria on an enduring basis. In March 2014, the State Department suspended the operations of the Syrian embassy in Washington, DC, and those of Syrian consulates in Michigan and Texas, and expelled Syrian staff.

U.S. Military Operations in Syria and U.S. Partner Forces

U.S. forces have operated in Syria since 2014 pursuant to the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF). U.S. operations in Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) seek the enduring defeat of the Islamic State. As of December 2024, an estimated 2,000 U.S. military personnel reportedly were present in eastern and southern Syria, conducting counterterrorism missions against IS remnants and supporting Syrian partner forces. U.S. forces have conducted dozens of airstrikes and multiple operations against IS targets in Syria since Asad's ouster, and have targeted Al Qaeda affiliates in northwest Syria in 2025.

Most U.S. forces in Syria have been deployed in the northeast in support of the SDF. U.S. troops also have supported the Syrian Free Army (SFA) near Al Tanf in a former deconfliction zone in southern Syria, along a transit route between Iraq and Syria once used by both IS fighters and by Iran and Iran-backed militias. In 2025, U.S. forces have continued to provide support to the SFA following that group's integration with the Syrian interim government under its 70^th Division.

In April 2025, a Pentagon spokesperson announced the consolidation of U.S. forces and said "a deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the U.S. footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand U.S. forces in the coming months."⁷⁹ By July 2025, some U.S. troops had relocated from areas with Arab-majority populations in the Euphrates River valley (see Figure 1), having closed three bases and "either dismantled and removed or handed over infrastructure to the SDF."⁸⁰ Ambassador Barrack has said the U.S. military will "eventually go to one" base in Syria.⁸¹

Since 2015, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has conducted periodic military strikes in Syria outside the framework of OIR, including on targets linked to Al Qaeda, Syrian government chemical weapons-related targets, and Iran-backed militias—some of which used Syria-based facilities to monitor and target U.S. forces. From October 2023 to November 2024, the U.S. military conducted strikes on facilities in eastern Syria associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated militias in response to attacks by Iran-backed militias on U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq. In 2024, U.S. officials reported force protection concerns linked to terrorist groups, Russia and Syrian government forces, and Iran-backed groups.

Syria Train and Equip Program FY2025 Funding and FY2026 Legislation

The Syria Train and Equip program, authorized by Congress since 2014 and funded via the Defense Department Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund (CTEF), seeks to sustain the defeat of the Islamic State in Syria by enabling Syrian partner forces in the SDF and the SFA. President Joe Biden requested and Congress appropriated $147.9 million in FY2025 CTEF funds for Syria programs available through September 2026. The FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act extended authorities for U.S. train and equip programs in Syria through December 2025.

The Trump Administration's FY2026 defense appropriations request seeks nearly $130 million for CTEF programs in Syria, with funds remaining available through September 2027. Program costs include training and equipping, logistical support, stipends, repair, and sustainment investments to support paramilitary, internal security, and detention personnel.

The House and Senate reported versions of the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, H.R. 3838/S. 2296/S.Amdt. 3748) would reauthorize train and equip programs in Syria at the requested funding level through December 2026. The Senate-reported version and amendment in the nature of a substitute (ANS, S.Amdt. 3748) include a provision that would prohibit the obligation or expenditure of funds authorized to be appropriated by the act "to reduce the number of, or consolidate, bases of the United States Armed Forces located in Syria" until 15 days after a certification is submitted providing assessments and information on U.S. posture and plans to continue to achieve counterterrorism objectives. The Senate-reported version and ANS also include a provision directing the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Secretary of State to take measures to support the defenses and internal security of the Al Hol and Roj camps and to provide annual reporting to Congress on related matters. The report accompanying the House version (H.Rept. 119-231) would require a briefing to the House Committee on Armed Services "not later than February 15, 2026, on the progress, challenges, and outlook for potential U.S. defense partnership with the new Syrian government."

The House-passed and Senate-reported defense appropriations bills for FY2026 (H.R. 4016/S. 2572) would appropriate funds for Syria at the requested level. The Senate-reported bill would rescind $5 million in FY2025 appropriations from the CTEF account. The report accompanying the House version (H.Rept. 119-162) would direct the Secretary of Defense to provide a briefing within 60 days of enactment to "assess the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces into the new Syrian government security force and evaluate progress made under the Al Hol Action Plan." (see below)

U.S. Support for IS Prisoner Detention and Camp Management

Successive Administrations have used Department of Defense and State Department programs to address challenges posed by the continued detention in Syria by U.S. partner forces of thousands of IS fighters and the presence of tens of thousands of formerly IS-associated individuals in U.S. partner-secured camps. Since 2019, transferring prisoners and returning camp residents to their home countries and communities has been slowed by other governments' fears about radicalization and by the uncertain security conditions prevailing in Syria. Ensuring the continued detention of IS fighters has been a high priority for successive Administrations, and Congress has directed specific resources and outlined requirements for U.S.-funded efforts related to humane detention and security practices. U.S. officials and partner forces considered and chose not to pursue plans to construct new purpose-built facilities to detain IS prisoners.⁸² Instead, upgrades to existing facilities have been undertaken with U.S. support, starting with those assessed to have the highest risk. U.S. officials reported in July 2025 that all SDF-run prisons have received basic upgrades, though longer-term upgrades "have not yet resulted in a marked increase in security."⁸³

The Departments of Defense and State have funded various training programs for U.S. partner force personnel focused on securing prisons and camps in northeast Syria. Some partner force personnel have received training in compliance with international humanitarian law and detainee treatment. In July, CJTF-OIR reported that because of competing demands SDF forces are "not consistently available to receive training."⁸⁴ CJTF-OIR further reported that "the lack of a formal training program for the SDF guard force... limits Coalition visibility into any deeper problems that might exist."

Figure 6. Demography of U.S. Partner-Secured Camps in Eastern Syria As of July 15, 2025

Source: CRS, using data reported to Lead Inspector General by U.S. State Department, July 2025.

The FY2024 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act directed that not less than $25 million in ESF monies be made available to implement the "U.S. Government Al-Hol Action Plan," which has sought to improve conditions in the camp and support reintegration. As of June 2025, lead inspector general reporting to Congress stated that all USAID programming supporting the plan had been terminated, but that State Department programs for camp management, coordination, and child education and protection were ongoing.⁸⁵

Speaking to the UN Security Council in February, a U.S. official said the United States supports a ceasefire in northern Syria that will "enable our local partners to focus on combatting ISIS and maintain security of detention facilities and displaced persons camps."⁸⁶ The official also said that ongoing U.S. assistance for the operations of the prisons and camps in northeastern Syria "cannot last forever" and "cannot remain a direct U.S. financial responsibility," urging "countries to expeditiously repatriate their displaced and detained nationals who remain in the region."⁸⁷

Of the funds appropriated for CTEF programs in FY2025, $15 million was directed to infrastructure repair and renovation. The Administration's FY2026 request seeks $1.6 million for these purposes. The Senate Appropriations Committee report S.Rept. 119-52 accompanying its version of the FY2026 defense appropriations bill (S. 2572) would direct the Department of Defense to report to the committee 30 days prior to obligating funds for construction activities, states that the committee "prioritizes detention facilities repair and construction ahead of any other construction activity," and would direct the Secretary of Defense "to engage with the SDF on ensuring that detainees are afforded all protections due under the Geneva Conventions." The Senate-reported version of the FY2026 NDAA (S. 2296) and ANS (S.Amdt. 3748) include a provision directing the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Secretary of State to take measures to support the defenses and internal security of the Al Hol and Roj camps and to provide annual reporting to Congress on related matters.

U.S. Stabilization and Foreign Assistance

The future of U.S. stabilization and foreign assistance programs in Syria is uncertain in light of developments in Syria and changes following the Trump Administration's review of U.S. foreign assistance activities and implementation of agency reorganization plans and staff relocations. Through 2024, U.S. assistance supported stabilization programs in northeast Syria, funded engagement with civil society and training for local governance and security entities in areas outside of the Asad government's control, and helped meet housing, services, reintegration, and repatriation needs at the Al Hol and Roj camps.

According to lead inspector general reporting to Congress, as of June 30, all USAID stabilization programming in Syria has been terminated. Some State Department stabilization programs have been continued. Others have been terminated.⁸⁸ USAID humanitarian assistance activities were paused in early 2025. Some were restarted and others were terminated. Lead inspector general reporting to Congress cites USAID officials as reporting that, "as a result, many partners paused operations and the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance, and in some cases terminated staff and closed offices."⁸⁹ USAID officials further reported that as of June 2025, "all USAID implementers were partially operational due to lack of payment," and termination of third-party monitoring contracts was "increasing the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse—especially in conflict-affected areas, where there is a heightened potential for diversion of funds."⁹⁰

The Trump Administration has provided congressional committees of jurisdiction with updated lists of foreign assistance programs in Syria that it has terminated and preserved following its global review of U.S. foreign assistance. Changing conditions, opportunities, and risks in Syria may prompt further changes to U.S. assistance plans.

The Trump Administration's FY2026 budget request for foreign assistance does not include a specific amount for Syria programs, but, consistent with the prior Administration's requests, does seek authority notwithstanding other provisions of law to provide "non-lethal stabilization assistance for Syria, including for emergency medical and rescue response and chemical weapons investigations."⁹¹ The House Appropriations Committee-reported version of the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 4779) includes this language, and would make funds available for assistance for ethnic and religious minorities in Syria.

U.S. Sanctions and Syria

From 1979 to 2024, the United States placed a broad array of sanctions on the government of Syria, Syrian entities and individuals, and third parties supporting certain Syrian government activities. The United States also imposed targeted sanctions on terrorist groups active in Syria and associated individuals. Successive Administrations and Congresses imposed and maintained these sanctions as a means of raising the costs to Syrian leaders of a number of policies they deemed hostile to U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economic interests. Specific sanctions actions were taken by different Administrations to address the Syrian government's support for terrorism, its trade in weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile technologies, its interference in neighboring Lebanon, and its conduct during the country's 2011-2024 conflict.

Sanctions Relief and Remaining Authorities

In January 2025, the Biden Administration issued a general license to allow for certain transactions in Syria through July 6, 2025, to include transactions with the government of Syria, transactions related to noncommercial personal remittances, and transactions in support of the sale, supply, storage, or donation of energy, including petroleum, petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity. President Biden also issued Executive Order 14142, amending Executive Order 13894 (2019)⁹²90 to remove specific references to the government of Turkey and preserving provisions allowing the potential imposition of financial and travel sanctions on individuals determined by the President to "threaten the peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity of Syria;""; or be involved in "the commission of serious human rights abuse" related to Syria.

On May 13, 2025, President Trump said during a visit to Saudi Arabia that his Administration is "currently was "exploring normalizing relations with Syria's new government," and said he would "be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness."⁹³91 The Administration subsequently provided exemptive relief for sanctions on the Commercial Bank of Syria, issued a 180-day waiver of sanctions in the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 ("Caesar Act," 22 U.S.C. §8791 note),⁹⁴92 and issued a general license (GL 25) that authorized certain transactions with Syria and designated individuals that would otherwise be prohibited under then-applicable sanctions regulations.⁹⁵93

On June 30, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14312, eliminating or waiving many Asad-era sanctions on the government of Syria, while amending Executive Order 13894 (2019) again to maintain sanctions on Asad-associated entities and refine mechanisms for possibly imposing future sanctions on entities determined to be disrupting Syria's transition, violating human rights, or threatening Syria's stability or territorial integrity. The order directsdirected the Secretary of State to "take all appropriate action" with respect to Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism⁹⁶94 and the designation of Jabhat Al Nusra/Hay'at Tahrir al Sham as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity. It also directsdirected the Secretary of State to review President Sharaa's individual designation. On July 8, Secretary Rubio's determination revoking the FTO designation of HTS was published.⁹⁷

95

On August 26, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published a final rule removing the Syrian Sanctions Regulations (31 CFRC.F.R. Part 542) from the Code of Federal Regulations, consistent with Executive Order 14312. According to the final rule, "OFAC intends, in a separate rulemaking, to amend 31 CFR part 569 to rename it On September 25, OFAC published a final rule that changed the heading of the Syria-Related Sanctions Regulations (31 C.F.R. part 569) to the Promoting Accountability for Assad and Regional Stabilization Sanctions Regulations and amended the renamed regulations to implement Executive Orders 14142 (2025) and 14312 (2025).⁹⁶ OFAC stated that several relevant "statutes will be fully integrated into a more comprehensive set of regulations at a future date," including statutes providing for sanctions related to human rights, civilian protection, drug trafficking, and defense cooperation with Russia.

In November, the Trump Administration revoked Ahmed Al Sharaa's designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224 (2001).⁹⁷ In a November vote, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2799, a U.S.-sponsored resolution removing Sharaa and interim interior minister Anas Khattab from the UN's Islamic State and Al Qaeda sanctions list.

In December, Congress repealed the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which among other things had authorized the imposition of sanctions on third-party investors in sectors key to the Syrian government's recovery plans. In doing so, Congress required the executive branch to provide regular reports to Congress on conditions in Syria, including on the Syrian government's performance relative to counterterrorism, minority protection, regional security, governance, human rights, and counternarcotics benchmarks.

The Administration, to date, is reviewing but has not rescinded Syria's status as a state sponsor of terrorism. the Promoting Accountability for Assad and Regional Stabilization Sanctions Regulations and to incorporate E.O. 13894, as further amended, and other relevant authorities. The Administration's July 2025 amendment of EO13894 (2019) preserves a framework for the potential imposition of sanctions on actors in Syria for "(1) actions or policies that further threaten the peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity of Syria; or (2) the commission of serious human rights abuse."⁹⁸

Legislation providing for some specific U.S. sanctions on the Syrian government and entities in Syria has not been amended or rescinded since December 2024, although there is debate in Congress over several related legislative proposals (see "Legislation and Hearings in the 119th Congress" below).⁹⁹ Some other terrorism, chemical and biological weapons and missile proliferation sanctions, human rights-related sanctions (addressing trafficking in persons and child soldiers), and drug trafficking (captagon) statutory sanctions apply. If the President or his designees act to further waive or permanently rescind the application of sanctions on Syria, such as Syria's State Sponsors of Terrorism designation, then specific notification and certification requirements to Congress under law may apply.

In the interim, the continuing application of the Caesar Act and Executive Order 13894, as amended, provide a basis for the U.S. government to reimpose some sanctions on Syrian actors if the President and his Administration determine that doing so is in U.S. interests. In May 2025, Secretary Rubio said "the President has made clear his expectation that relief will be followed by prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities."¹⁰⁰ That month, the Department of the Treasury said, "U.S. sanctions relief has been extended to the new Syrian government with the understanding that the country will not offer a safe haven for terrorist organizations and will ensure the security of its religious and ethnic minorities. The U.S. will continue monitoring Syria's progress and developments on the ground."¹⁰¹

Earlier in May, the State Department had announced that Secretary of State Rubio recertified Syria as a "'not fully cooperating country' (NFCC) under section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act." The Government of Syria is consequently denied trade with the United States in defense articles and defense services under section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act.¹⁰²

U.S. Targeted Terrorism Sanctions

In May 2018, the executive branch added Hayat Tahrir al Sham as an alias of the Nusrah Front, which until July 2025 was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. As of September, HTS remains a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity under Executive Order 13224. The executive branch designated Sharaa as an SDGT pursuant to Executive Order 13224 in 2013; as of September, he remains so designated, as does interim Interior Minister Anas Khattab. Sharaa has described U.S. terrorism related sanctions on him, HTS, and other former HTS figures as no longer warranted in light of subsequent counterterrorism actions and commitments and their post-Asad decision to disband armed groups, including HTS. The executive branch retains authority to amend or rescind SDGT designations under current law.

U.S. Targeted Terrorism Sanctions

In May 2025, the State Department announced that Secretary of State Rubio recertified Syria as a "'not fully cooperating country' (NFCC) under section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act." The Government of Syria is consequently denied trade with the United States in defense articles and defense services under Section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act.⁹⁸ Other terrorism, chemical and biological weapons and missile proliferation sanctions, human rights-related sanctions (addressing trafficking in persons and child soldiers), and drug trafficking (captagon) statutory sanctions also continue to apply.

The Administration has communicated explicitly and repeatedly that U.S. sanctions relief is conditional. For example, in May 2025 the Department of the Treasury said, "U.S. sanctions relief has been extended to the new Syrian government with the understanding that the country will not offer a safe haven for terrorist organizations and will ensure the security of its religious and ethnic minorities. The U.S. will continue monitoring Syria's progress and developments on the ground."⁹⁹ Accordingly, the Administration has preserved in amended executive orders the authority to impose new sanctions on individuals determined by the President to "threaten the peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity of Syria"; or be involved in "the commission of serious human rights abuse" related to Syria.¹⁰⁰ The Administration is revising regulations for statutory and executive order-based Syria sanctions and has said revisions "will be fully integrated into a more comprehensive set of regulations at a future date."¹⁰¹

Taken together, these legislative and executive actions appear to reflect a current consensus that the United States should provide sanctions relief to Syria's transitional government but remain vigilant regarding potential risks. Under the prevailing framework, the President may retain broad authority with regard to decisions concerning existing sanctions on Syria and Syria-based entities. Congress may consider whether or how to amend or rescind remaining statutory U.S. sanctions or to respond to the executive branch's steps to rescind or impose new sanctions implemented pursuant to executive orders and designations.

U.S. Targeted Terrorism Sanctions

In May 2018, the executive branch added Hayat Tahrir al Sham as an alias of the Nusrah Front, which until July 2025 was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. As of SeptemberFebruary 2026, HTS remains a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity under Executive Order 13224. The executive branch designated Sharaa as an SDGT pursuant to Executive Order 13224 in 2013; as of September, he remains so designated, as does interim Interior Minister Anas Khattab. Sharaa has described U.S. terrorism related sanctions on him, HTS, and other former HTS figures as no longer warranted in light of subsequent counterterrorism actions and commitments and their post-Asad decision to disband armed groups, including HTS. The executive branch retains authority to amend or rescind SDGT designations under current law.

European Union (EU) Sanctions

On May 28, the EU announced that it was lifting all non-security-based economic restrictive measures on Syria and removing 24 entities from its asset blocking list, including the Central Bank of Syria. The EU amended its remaining Syria sanctions measures to focus on Asad regime individuals and their international backers and extended them to 2026. The EU also placed human rights- based sanctions on those reportedly involved in the March 2025 sectarian violence in western Syria.¹⁰³

U.S. Tariffs

President Trump has and rescinded that designation in November 2025 along with that of Interior Minister Anas Khattab. The executive branch retains authority to amend or rescind SDGT designations under current law. U.S. Tariffs In April 2025, President Trump increased tariffs on U.S. imports from all global trading partners.¹⁰⁴ On102 In July 312025, the President issued an executive order adjusting country-specific tariffs that set the tariff on Syria to 41 percent.¹⁰⁵ CRS has not observed any Administration comment on Syria's specific tariff rate. In 2024, U.S. exports to Syria were valued at $2 million and U.S. imports were valued at $11 million.¹⁰⁶

Admission of U.S. Syrian Partners and Status of Syrian Nationals

Since 2014, U.S. operations against the Islamic State in Syria have relied on partnership with local forces. Members of Congress have debated the eligibility of these local partners for admission into the United States in the case of attack by Turkish and/or Syrian forces. Several bills in the 116^th Congress would have extended the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program to foreign nationals employed by the U.S. military in Syria, as well as their immediate families. The Syrian SIV programs proposed by these bills generally were modeled on the temporary SIV programs for Iraqis and Afghans who worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government. During the 117^th Congress, Representatives Jason Crow and Michael Waltz reintroduced one such bill, the Syrian Partner Protection Act (H.R. 2838), which would have provided SIV status to a national of Syria or a stateless person who has habitually resided in Syria that had "partnered with, was employed by, or worked for or directly with the United States Government in Syria as an interpreter, translator, intelligence analyst, or in another sensitive and trusted capacity, on or after January 1, 2014, for an aggregate period of not less than 1 year."

The Biden Administration in January 2024 redesignated Syria as a country whose nationals are eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States through September 30, 2025.¹⁰⁷ Nearly 40,000 Syrian nationals had been admitted to the United States as refugees from FY2014 through FY2023.¹⁰⁸

%.¹⁰³ The February 20, 2026, U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tariffs imposed by President Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA, 50 U.S.C. §§1701 et seq.) invalidated the April 2025 tariffs, and President Trump then declared new tariffs under a different statute, leaving Syria as of the date of this report with a 10% tariff on most exports to the United States.¹⁰⁴ In 2025, U.S. exports to Syria were valued at $5.5 million and U.S. imports from Syria were valued at $7.6 million.¹⁰⁵

Regional and International Initiatives and Interests

The nature, duration, and effects of the Syria crisis and the intervention of external actors have made the outcome of Syria's transition and the country's stability a matter of national security concern for some countries across the Middle East region and beyond. As of September 2025February 2026, notable statements and developments involving selected third parties include

Israel. The fall of the Asad regime brought an end to fifty50 years of rule by antagonists of Israel thatwho had facilitated the transfer of support from Iran to Israel's enemies in Lebanon and beyond. During Israel's wars against Hamas and Hezbollah following the attacks of October 7, 2023, Israel continued air strikes on Syrian territory; in September 2024, it conducted a special forces raid against Syrian missile factories.¹⁰⁹106 Israel has conducted military strikes across Syria since Asad's ouster, targeting sites associated with Syrian weapons of mass destruction and defense research programs, conventional weapons, and air defense systems. Israel also has demanded that the interim SyrianSyrian transitional government demilitarize three southern provinces, a demand that some Syrians have publicly protested.

As the Asad regime collapsed on December 8, 2024, Israeli military forces entered the UN Disengagement Observation Force (UNDOF) buffer zone established by the 1974 Israel-Syria Disengagement Agreement. From 1974 until Asad's ouster, most international controversy regarding control over Israel-Syria border areas focused on Israel's 1981 annexation of areas of the Golan Heights it had captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The United States recognized these Israel-controlled areas of the Golan Heights as part of Israel in 2019. Syria's transitionalSyria's interim authorities report that they have communicated with UNDOF officials and expressed their willingness to return Syrian state forces to areas adjacent to the UNDOF zone provided that Israel removes its force from areas within and beyond the zone.

In November 2025, President Ahmed Al Sharaa, whose family reportedly was displaced from the Golan region in 1967 and whose nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al Jolani/Jawlani/Golani during the insurgency reflected those origins, criticized what he described as Israel's "expansionist ambitions" and reiterated his government's view that "to reach a final agreement, Israel should withdraw to their pre-Dec. 8 (2024) borders."¹⁰⁷ Syrian authorities reportedly have said in a letter to the U.S. government "we will not allow Syria to become a source of threat to any party, including Israel."¹⁰⁸

In a letter to the United Nations, Israel stated that it had taken "limited and temporary measures to counter any further threat to its citizens," and that the (Israel Defense Forces) IDF have deployed temporarily in a few points and in a limited capacity east of Line A."¹¹⁰109 In December 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the press that Israel's seizure of control over the UNDOF zone was a "temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found."¹¹¹110 Subsequent media reports suggest that the IDF has been constructing more long-term infrastructure in the UNDOF zone and beyond.¹¹²111 In January 2025, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israeli forces intend to remain "at the top of Mount Hermon and in the security zone indefinitely to protect Golan communities, the north and all Israeli citizens."¹¹³

As mentioned above, Israel has demanded that the new Syrian government demilitarize its three southern provinces.¹¹⁴ After a reported Israeli strike south of Damascus on February 25, Defense Minister Katz said Israel "will not allow southern Syria to become southern Lebanon. ...We will not endanger the security of our citizens. Any attempt by Syrian regime forces and the country's terrorist organizations to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria—will be met with fire."¹¹⁵

Syrian authorities reportedly have said in a letter to the U.S. government "we will not allow Syria to become a source of threat to any party, including Israel."¹¹⁶ In a February interview, Ahmed Al Sharaa, whose family reportedly was displaced from the Golan region in 1967, said, "The Israelis need to retreat because their advancement will cause a lot of trouble in the future.... There is near-unanimous international agreement that [Israel's] advancement is not right."¹¹⁷112

Further Israeli strikes followed sectarian violence in May and July, including strikes in Damascus on the Syrian Ministry of Defense headquarters and near facilities associated with the Syrian presidency. Israel has expressed a willingness to defend Druze communities—an offer Syrian Druze have differed over.¹¹⁸ In late August113 In August 2025, Israeli strikes and a raid by troops killed Syrian soldiers newnear Kiswah.¹¹⁹

114 In November 2025, an Israeli raid and strike targeting armed Islamists near Beit Jinn, Syria, near the Golan Heights killed 13 Syrians according to Syrian officials.¹¹⁵

Since May, Israel and Syria have engaged in talks to ease tensions and exchange security information, including in U.S.-supported meetings following the July violence in southern Syria and Israel's military intervention.¹²⁰ Israel has proposed the establishment of a humanitarian corridor between Israel and Suweida, an idea that the Syrian government thus far has rejected.¹²¹ Both governments have publicly acknowledged the discussions. Sharaa has not precluded future Israel-Syria ties, but current discussions reportedly focus on security arrangements in southern Syria.¹²²

116 Sharaa has not precluded future Israel-Syria ties, but current discussions reportedly focus on security arrangements in southern Syria.¹¹⁷ On January 6, 2026, the United States, Israel, and Syria announced plans to "establish a joint fusion mechanism—a dedicated communication cell—to facilitate immediate and ongoing coordination on their intelligence sharing, military de-escalation, diplomatic engagement, and commercial opportunities under the supervision of the United States."¹¹⁸

The prospect of Turkish-Syrian military cooperation and the possible stationing in Syria of additional Turkish military forces—including air and air defense forces in central Syria—has emerged as a matter of concern for Israel's government.¹²³119 Turkish and Israeli officials have taken deconfliction steps to reduce the continuing potential for military confrontation. In November, Russian and Syrian defense ministry personnel conducted a joint security survey in Quneitra Governorate, adjacent to the Israel-controlled Golan Heights.¹²⁰ A renewed Russian security presence in this region could forestall Israeli concerns about a possible Turkish military presence, but may pose other security questions for Israel, the United States, and U.S. partners.

Turkey. Turkey has emerged as perhaps the most influential international actor in Syria and offered security and economic assistance to the interim government; Turkish and Syrian officials have exchanged high level visits and Turkish military forces remain present in areas of northern Syria. Turkey's stated principal concerns in Syria appear to relate to the presence and activities of PKK members in areas that have been controlled by the U.S.-backed SDF. Turkey may also harbor a basic opposition to the SDF and enduring concerns about potential Syrian Kurdishintegration of SDF personnel and Kurdish-led administrative figures into Syrian state bodies and have enduring concerns about future attempts by Syrian Kurds to seek greater autonomy.

Turkey has offered military training and support to Syria's interim authorities, and Sharaa and other interim leaders have adopted positions on the future of the SDF, its integration with national forces, and the political future of northeast Syria that appear to align with Turkish preferences. In August 2025, Turkey and Syria signed a "joint training consultancy memorandum of understanding [MOU]" as an apparent step toward a substantive military cooperation deal.¹²⁴121 Turkish officials reportedly anticipate strengthening Syria's regular army with arms and other forms of support in hopes of helping it establish long-term stability.¹²⁵122 While Turkish and Syrian officials apparently are discussing the potential deployment of Turkish troops to some Syrian bases, the MOU reportedly does not address that point.¹²⁶123 Additionally, Turkey reportedly plans to avoid providing any weapons that could provoke Israel given existing tensions.¹²⁷124

Closer Syrian-Turkish official ties and an expanded Turkish military presence in Syria may provide Turkey with greater regional influence, and could affect the perceptions and security calculations of Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and other Arab states.

UN agencies report that there were more than 2.523 million registered Syrian refugees in Turkey as of August 21, 2025.¹²⁸

February 12, 2026.¹²⁵

Arab States. Syria's interimtransitional authorities are actively pursuing engagement with Arab states, whose interests and motives may differ. For instance, Qatar may share Turkey's comfort with Sharaa's Islamist orientationbackground, while Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates may harbor reservations. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud facilitated Sharaa's meeting in Saudi Arabia with President Trump and, via phone, with President Erdogan of Turkey, and the kingdom and the UAE have announced plans for large investments in Syria. Saudi Arabia and Qatar jointly paid Syria's outstanding debt to the World Bank, enabling to enable new lending, and they announced threehave provided months of joint support for Syrian public sector salaries beginning in Junesince mid-2025. Iraq's government invited Sharaa to attend the May Arab Summit in Baghdad, but he declined amid some Iraqi groups' vocal opposition because of his past associations with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group. Jordan and Syria have continued to exchange official visits and Jordan joined other Arab states and Turkey in rejecting Israel's July 2025 military strikes inside Syria in the context of intercommunal violence in the southern province of Suweida.¹²⁹

126

Iran. Syria's interim authorities control areastransitional government controls areas of Syria formerly used by Iran and Iran-backed armed groups to move weapons and personnel into and beyond Syria; Asad's ouster severed long-established and important links in the networks Iran has used to project regional power. Syria's interimSyrian authorities have reported interdicting some small arms shipments to Lebanon, but have not accused Iran or Iran-backed groups of violating Syrian sovereignty on a broad or recurring basis. This may not prove that Iran is not attempting to do so. In December 2024, Ahmed Al Sharaa expressed his hope that Iran and Syria could have normal relations, based on mutual respect for sovereignty and noninterference.¹³⁰

Interim authorities in Syria have reportedly 127 Syrian security bodies reportedly have disrupted attempted Islamic State attacks against the Sayyida Zeinab shrine in Damascus, the protection of which Iran and pro-Iran armed groups used as a predicate and recruiting tool for their presence in Syria. A group known as Syrian Islamic Resistance Front claims to have conducted attacks since December 2024 on Israeli forces in the Golan Heights region from Syria: its statements feature a logo similar to Iran-backed armed groups in Lebanon and Iraq.¹³¹128

Syria's transitional government, did not join other Arab states in condemning Israeli and U.S. military operations against Iran in June 2025. Press and social media reports suggest that Israeli aircraft transited Syrian airspace en route to and from Iran, with Israeli strikes against military equipment in Syria duringsince December and January 20252024 having eliminated Syria's already limited ability to control its airspace.

Russia. Russia was Asad's most important military supporter. The presence in Syria of Russian air, ground, and naval forces both bolstered Russia's regional power projection abilities and served as a bulwark for the Asad government. Russia's decision in late 2024 to limit its military intervention on Asad's behalf, and its rapid decision to engage with Syria's transitional authorities, illustrate the enduring nature of Russia's interests in Syria, with continued military access as a key Russian priority. Russian personnel and equipment remain at the Hmeimim air base and the Tartous Naval Facility.¹³² An August press report also suggests that 129 Russian forces have strengthenedwithdrew their presence at the Qamishli airport in northeast Syria in January 2026.¹³⁰.¹³³

In a December 2024 interview, Sharaa described Syria's relationship with Russia as long established and strategic and said the interim government would work to establish a new strategic relationship with Russia based on respect for the sovereignty of the Syrian state. In April 2025, Sharaa confirmed he had requested the return by Russia of former Syrian president Asad, who has been granted asylum in Moscow.¹³⁴ 131 In July 2025, the Syrian Foreign Minister visited Moscow "to start a necessary discussion ... based on the lessons of the past, to formulate the future."¹³⁵ Russia has invited Sharaa to attend a Russia-Arab League summit132 The Syrian transitional government since has held several high-level exchanges with Russian counterparts, and President Sharaa travelled to Moscow in October 2025 and January 2026 for meetings with Vladimir Putin. Russian defense officials have hosted Syria's Minister of Defense and General Intelligence Director for consultations on future cooperation. Statements from Damascus and Moscow on these occasions have been relatively warm and have not signaled any significant rupture or downgrade in ties. Sharaa said he would honor past bilateral agreements with Russia, which may include 49-year lease access agreements signed in 2017 by the Asad government granting Russia access to the Hmeimim Air base in Latakia and the Material Technical Support Point naval facility at Tartus. Russian military transport flights to Hmeimim were observed to have resumed in October 2025.

Russia's role in arming and training Syrian military personnel for decades may suggest that Syrian interim authorities could look to Russia as one source of military equipment and support as they rebuild and rearm Syrian security forces. Russia's seat on the UN Security Council also gives it influence over international decisions related to Syria.

Legislation and Hearings in the 119^th Congress

In the 119^th Congress:

• H.R. 1327, legislative initiatives included a range of sanctions-related proposals prior to the repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, along withH.R. 1327, which would direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a threat assessment of terrorist threats to the United States posed by individuals in Syria with an affiliation with a Foreign Terrorist Organization or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity.
;
• S.J.Res. 6, which would direct the President to remove U.S. armed forcesArmed Forces from hostilities in or affecting Syria within 30 days of adoption and unless and until a declaration of war or specific authorization is enacted.
• H.R. 3941 and S. 2133 would repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act (22 U.S.C. §8791 note). H.R. 4241 would repeal the Caesar Act and the Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. §§8791 et seq.).
• H.R. 4427, the Syria Sanctions Accountability Act of 2025, would amend the Caesar Act and establish other reviews and conditions related to sanctions relief for Syria.
• H.R. 4779, the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026, would appropriate funds for the conditional provision of foreign assistance in Syria.
• In the House and Senate, versions of a FY2026 NDAA and (H.R. 3838/S. 2296) and defense appropriations acts (H.R. 4016/S. 2572) would authorize and appropriate funds for continued military assistance to U.S. partners in Syria.

; and

S. 3740, which was introduced in January 2026 as a deterrent to Syrian transitional government military operations against Kurdish forces, and would impose comprehensive sanctions on the Syrian transitional government and parties conducting transactions with it and redesignate HTS as an FTO.¹³³

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a full committee hearing (S. Hrg. 119-37) on February 13, 2025, entitled "After Assad: Navigating Syria Policy."

The House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a hearing on June 5, 2025, entitled "After Assad: The Future of Syria."

The Helsinki Commission held a hearing on February 3, 2026, entitled "Securing Syria's Transformation by Diminishing Russia's Influence."

The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on February 10, 2026, entitled "Syria at a Crossroads: U.S. Policy Challenges Post-Assad."

The House Financial Services Committee held a full committee markup on H.R. 4427, the Syria Sanctions Accountability Act of 2025, on July 22, 2025.

Outlook and Issues Before Congress

Syria's interimtransitional authorities are asserting domestic and international legitimacy based on their leadership of the late 2024 military campaign that dislodged Bashar Al Asad and the acceptance to date by Syrians of the interim Constitutional Declarationconstitutional declaration and decisions they have taken. They are attempting to project an image of calm inevitability for their continuing leadership of the transition, amid sectarian violence, incompletecontested territorial control, and calls from Syrians and international observers for a more inclusive process and greater protection for minorities. As procedural steps in the transition continue, Syrian leaders face daunting challenges as they seek to reconstruct a functioning state apparatus that can protect Syrian sovereignty and citizens, rebuild national infrastructure, and establish a self-sustaining, productive economy.

Interim leaders' willingness to share power and the durability of the peace that has broadlygenerally has prevailed in Syria since mid-December 2024 may continue to be tested. Stressors may include decisions made regarding the political and security future of northeast Syria; the relative integration and participation in the transition of Druze communities in southern Syria; the protection of the rights of Syrian minorities and women; the possibility of renewed or expanded foreign military intervention; and the willingness of Syrians to uphold order in the face of severe humanitarian crises, economic deprivation, sectarian violence, and vigilantism.

Outside actors continue to approach Syria in pursuit of their discrete interests. Many regional countries have pledged support for the transition in Syria, but the compatibility of their goals and Syrians' willingness to embrace them are uncertain. Israeli military operations in Syria and the Golan Heights region, Israeli actions to protect Syrian minority groups, and Israeli government demands that Syria's new government accept limits on Syrian government security and military operations in southern Syria may lead to confrontation. The possibility of Turkish military intervention in the context of disputes over the future of the northeast remains present. Outside actors, including the United States, may weigh concerns about the resumption of conflict in Syria and the reemergence of transnational terrorist threats alongside goals of supporting and shaping the political transition, stabilization, and reconstruction efforts.

In this context, Congress and the Trump Administration may continue to reassess U.S. interests in Syria and debate approaches toward securing them relative to U.S. priorities elsewhere. U.S. policy toward Syria since 2011 has pursued parallel and at times competing interests and has featured a mix of evolving diplomatic, military, assistance, and sanctions efforts. Views in Congress and successive Administrations regarding how the United States should approach Syria policy have at times been divergent and have changed over time and in response to developments at home and abroad. Looking ahead, the 119^th Congress may use its national security tools and authorities to examine and shape U.S. policies toward Syria's interim government, various Syrian groups, and regional and international parties active in Syria. As it does so, Members may consider and debate three keyseveral policy questions:

Should the United States continue its military and How should United States counterterrorism operations in Syria evolve?

Eliminating threats to the United States and U.S. national security interests posed by terrorist groups active in Syria has been a consistent goal of U.S. policy toward Syria since the Obama Administration. Through August 2025January 2026, the United States has maintained a military presence in southern and northeastern Syria tasked with conducting operations against terrorist groups and supporting local partner forces in ensuring the enduring defeat of the Islamic State organization. This has included the provision of support to partner forces that detainwere conducting counter-IS operations, detaining thousands of IS fighters, and securesecuring camps housing tens of thousands of individuals from formerly IS-controlled areas. Congress has provided authority and funding to the Department of Defense on an annual basis for these operations, in addition to operational funds for U.S. Central Command and other military components to conduct related activities.

As President Trump considers and makes decisions about the future of U.S. military operations in Syria, Congress is considering whether or not to continue to provide related funding and authorities and, if so, on what terms. The FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act extends through December 2025 authorities for U.S. train and equip programs in Syria.¹³⁶ While Congress could act independently of the Administration's requests, to date, congressional consideration of defense appropriations and authorizations for FY2026 has not featured proposals for substantial revisions of U.S. policies and programs.

The fluid political and security situation inside Syria raises continuing questions about the relationships between U.S. partner forces and Syria's interim government. Congress may consider whether U.S. assistance should continue, change, or end in light of developments and factors in Syria such as the posture and policies of Syria's interim authorities, the participation of U.S. partner forces in Syria's transition, or any emergent hostility or conflict involving interim authorities, other countries such as Turkey or Israel, and U.S. partner forces. Partner force protection concerns, including questions related to evacuation and immigration, have emerged in other contexts such as Afghanistan and Iraq where the United States has ended military and counterterrorism efforts conducted with partner forces.

Syria's interim president Ahmed Al Sharaa has emphasized that he seeks relationships with other countries, including the United States, based on respect for Syria's sovereignty. In a February interview, Sharaa said, "In light of the new Syrian state, I believe any illegal military presence should not continue. Any military presence in a sovereign state should take place under a certain agreement, and there has been no such agreement between us and the United States of America."¹³⁷ With the SDF agreeing in March 2025 to begin a process of integrating with the Syrian state, U.S. security relations with both the SDF and interim authorities may face pressures to change.

Possible questions Members may consider for oversight and legislative purposes include

• Following the Syrian government's reassertion of security control in eastern Syria in January 2026 and the transfer of IS prisoners to Iraq, the transitional government and its security forces are assuming responsibility for remaining counterterrorism functions, and unnamed U.S. officials have indicated that U.S. forces are preparing to withdraw.

  Congress has provided authority and funding to the Department of Defense on an annual basis for related U.S. operations and assistance, and changes to U.S. posture and operations or the extension of new U.S. security assistance to transitional government security forces may prompt new legislative reconsideration, oversight, and debate. The FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act and FY2026 Defense Appropriations Act extended through December 2026 authorities for U.S. train and equip programs in Syria and provided funding available through September 2027.¹³⁴ In considering Administration initiatives in 2026, Congress may act independently of the Administration's requests, and congressional consideration of defense appropriations and authorizations for FY2027 may feature proposals for substantial revisions of U.S. policies and programs.

  Possible questions Members may consider for oversight and legislative purposes include the following:

  What is the current nature of Syria-based terrorist threats? To what extent do groups active in Syria threaten the United States directly or indirectly? To what extent are U.S. interests and partners threatened?
• How capable are U.S. partner forces and the interim is the Syrian government of independently combatting terrorist threats in Syria? On what timeline and with what assistance might these entities be the transitional government be more capable of providing security for Syria independently? What role are foreign terrorist fighters or other extremists playing in Syria's new security forces? What are the prospects for demobilization and disarmament of armed groups in Syria? What would such efforts entail?
• Should the United States continue to operate militarily in SyriaHow might changes to the posture, presence, and operations of the U.S. military in Syria affect U.S. interests? Should Congress act to support or limit Administration actions to change the U.S. military presence or operations in Syria? What viable alternatives to U.S. leadership and resources exist, if any? Can U.S. operations from Turkey, Iraq, or Jordan adequately secure U.S. interests and how sustainable might the presence of U.S. forces in those countries be? How long and at what cost should the United States be prepared to combat terrorist threats in Syria?
• Should the United States continue to operate militarily without the consent of Syria's interim government? On what basis and legal justifications should any ongoing U.S. military operations in Syria take place?
• How might the integration of U.S. partner forces in Syria with national forces affect U.S. programs and interests? What changes, if any, should result in U.S. operations or engagement? Should the United States seek a status of forces agreement or counterterrorism and defense cooperation agreement with interim authorities What contributions are others making to these efforts? How might the success or failure of the integration of former U.S. partner forces with Syrian government forces affect U.S. interests? Should the United States ensure the implementation of related agreements? If so, how? Should the United States enter into counterterrorism and defense cooperation agreements with Syria's transitional government? If so, on what terms?
• What consideration or protection, if any, does the United States owe members of Syrian partner forces that have supported U.S. counterterrorism objectives to date? What posture should the United States adopt with regard to the relationships between its Syrian partners and Syria's emergent new government? How might any such obligations best be reconciled with the security concerns of U.S. allies and any broader U.S. reputational interests?

What type of relationship should the United States have with Syria's interim transitional government and other entities in post-Asad Syria?

The United States suspended diplomatic operations in Syria during the 2011-2024 conflict, but did not sever diplomatic relations or durably transfer recognition to any other Syrian entity. President Trump's engagement with President Sharaa and ongoing engagement with Syrian leaders by Secretary of State Rubio and Special Envoy for Syria Barrack reflect a de facto U.S. recognition of Syria's transitional authorities.

The Administration and Congress have rescinded manygovernment and other entities in post-Asad Syria?

On May 13, 2025, President Donald Trump said during a visit to Saudi Arabia that his Administration is "currently exploring normalizing relations with Syria's new government."¹³⁸ The United States suspended diplomatic operations in Syria during the 2011-2024 conflict, but did not sever diplomatic relations or durably transfer recognition to any other Syrian entity. In December 2024, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said "The United States will recognize and fully support a future Syria government that results from ... an inclusive and transparent process."¹³⁹ President Trump's engagement with President Al Sharaa and ongoing engagement with interim government leaders by Special Envoy for Syria Barrack reflect a de facto U.S. recognition of the transitional authorities, but, to date, the United States has not formally recognized the interim government or invited it to send diplomatic representatives to the United States on a lasting basis.

The Administration has begun the process of rescinding U.S. sanctions on the Syrian government and Syrian state entities that were imposed under the previous Syrian government, while maintaining targeted sanctions on Asad regime officials and maintaining a framework that would provide for the imposition of new sanctions on Syrian actors if deemed necessary. Uncertainty persists over the inclusivity of the transition and the interimSyrian government's approach to minority communities and areas controlled by U.S. partner forces.

Possible questions Members may consider for oversight and legislative purposes include

• the following:When and on what terms, if any, should the U.S. government reestablish regular diplomatic relations with Syria's interimtransitional government? What diplomatic presence should the United States and Syria have in each other's country, and what costs and opportunitiesopportunities, risks, and costs might accompany the return of U.S. diplomatic personnel to Syria on a permanent basis?
When and under what circumstances should the United States release any Syrian state funds blocked in the United States?
• When, how, and on what terms should the United States alter prevailingremaining sanctions on Syria, Syrian state entities, or individuals and groups in Syria, including U.S.-designated terrorist entities and individuals? What specific executive or legislative sanctions measures, if any, ought to be altered and how? Under what circumstances might sanctions be reimposed and for what purposes? When and under what circumstances should the United States release any Syrian state funds blocked in the United States? ? For what purposes, on what terms, and with what potential effects? What measures can Congress directly affect and what measures are within the President's discretion?

Should the United States provide Syria-related foreign assistance and humanitarian assistance?

Through January 2025, the U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development provided a range of foreign assistance and security assistance in Syria, focused on areas outside the control of the Syrian government.¹⁴⁰135 This included stabilization programs focused on essential services and local governance, civil society, support for democratic governance, education, demining, agriculture, support to independent media, community security, livelihoods, and economic growth. U.S. humanitarian assistance supported relief efforts for internally displaced persons in Syria, select Syrian communities, and Syrian refugees in regional countries. The Trump Administration's review of U.S. foreign assistance, the reorganization of executive branch entities responsible for implementing foreign assistance, and changes to the U.S. military presence in Syria altered U.S. capabilities and programs. Some assistance programs have ended, some have changed, and some continue on previous terms.

Congress may inquire about the extent to which changes to U.S. foreign assistance programs and implementation in Syria instituted by the Trump Administration reflect lasting changes to U.S. policy and priorities there. Congress may consult Administration officials, implementing partners, and other observers to determine whether prevailing efforts are aligned with U.S. priorities and interests in Syria and whether alternative approaches are advisable.

Past congressional and executive branch concerns have focused on obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Syria, the potential diversion of U.S. humanitarian and security assistance by entities in Syria, and the extent to which U.S.-funded assistance programs may benefit Syrian entities with whom the United States has policy differences. While many of these concerns were directly linked to the antagonistic relationship between the Asad government and the U.S. government, and Asad's exploitation of international aid and recovery efforts, Congress may also consider these issues when examining proposals for assistance programs in post-Asad Syria, and in considering Administration requests for authorities or funds.

Possible questions Members may consider for oversight and legislative purposes include

• How have the Trump Administration's 2025 foreign assistance policy changes affected U.S. assistance programs and policies in Syria and regional countries? What specific programs and contracts have changed and how have implementing partners and program beneficiaries been affected? How have other countries or entities responded? Have any acted to replace U.S. funding and/or implementation of programs supported by the United States through 2024?
• the following:What are Syria's post-Asad security, economic, reconstruction, and humanitarian needs? To what extent, and how, are such needs being assessed and met? What resources and partners are engaging to provide support? to Syria? What support, if any, should the United States provide? Using what authorities, resources, and mechanisms? For how long, on what terms, and at what cost?

Appendix. Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS): Leadership, Insurgency, Terrorism, and Governance

Figure A-1. Interim President of the Syrian Arab Republic Ahmed Al Sharaa

Source: Above – Associated Press, 2016. Below - Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), February 25, 2025.

Ahmed Hussein Al Sharaa was born in 1982 to a Syrian family from Damascus.¹⁴¹136 According to Sharaa, his family lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and returned to Syria when he was seven. Sharaa has said his grandfather was displaced from the Golan Heights amid Israel-Syria fighting during the June 1967 Six-Day War: Sharaa apparently adopted the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al Jolani/Jawlani/Golani in reference to his family's roots in that area.

Sharaa has said he travelled to Iraq in 2003, arriving just prior to the U.S. invasion, and that, after a brief return to Syria, he again travelled to Iraq in 2005 and joined the organization that would become Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Sharaa claims he differed with the group's anti-Shia Muslim sectarian ideology and targeting of civilians, but Sharaa remained an AQI member and, according to a former U.S. intelligence official, he led an AQI cell.¹⁴²137 U.S. forces arrested Sharaa around 2005 or 2006, and imprisoned him in Camp Bucca in southern Iraq until late 2010 or early 2011, when he was released.¹⁴³138 Sharaa reportedly used a false identity while in Iraq. Sharaa says he used his time in prison to develop plans for toppling the Syrian government. Upon Sharaa's release, he sought out former associates, who were then organized and operating as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).

Sharaa has said that after the start of the anti-Asad uprising in Syria in 2011, he shared his plans for waging an insurgency in Syria with AQI/ISI leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Sharaa said Baghdadi agreed to provide limited support, and Sharaa departed Iraq for Syria with funding and a small number of AQI/ISI cadres. In late 2011, Jabhat al Nusra Li-Ahl al Sham (the Support Front for the People of Syria, or Nusra Front) began targeting the Asad government. According to the U.S. government, from November 2011 to December 2012, the Nusra Front claimed "nearly 600 attacks – ranging from more than 40 suicide attacks to small arms and improvised explosive device operations – in major city centers." The State Department described the Nusra Front in 2012 as "an attempt by AQI to hijack the struggles of the Syrian people for its own malign purposes."¹⁴⁴139

Under Sharaa's leadership, the Nusra Front became a leading actor in the insurgency against Asad, drawing greater support from some other Syrian factions. In April 2013, Baghdadi attempted to reassert direct control over the Nusra Front and announced that Sharaa's group would be dissolved into the newly announced Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIL/ISIS). Sharaa said he and his group were not consulted on the change, and they pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri and said the Nusra Front would continue its operations.¹⁴⁵140 While Islamic State and Al Qaeda leaders disputed global leadership of the jihadist movement in 2014 and 2015, IS and Nusra Front fighters clashed in Syria, with IS forces expelling the Nusra Front and other armed anti-Asad groups from large areas of northern and central Syria.

Sharaa announced the dissolution of the Nusra Front in July 2016 and rebranded the group as Jabhat Fatah al Sham (the Syrian Victory Front). In January 2017, Sharaa merged his group with some other armed Islamist opponents of Asad and established Hayat Tahrir al Sham (the Organization for the Liberation of Syria). Al Qaeda rejected Sharaa's decisions and accused Sharaa of betrayal. Several Al Qaeda ideologues and operatives left the new coalition. Sharaa later directed HTS security operations against Al Qaeda-linked figures.

By 2018, HTS had become the de facto authority in Idlib province in northwest Syria, coopting some rivals and suppressing some groups' opposition to its leadership through force. Some Al Qaeda-linked elements of HTS opposed reported HTS security cooperation with Turkey and HTS leaders' emphasis on local security and administration. These elements split from HTS, forming Hurras Al Din (Guardians of Religion). As ofIn 2025, U.S. military strikes continuecontinued to target Hurras Al Din members.

HTS established the Syrian Salvation Government in Idlib to administer limited services and provide governance. HTS at times clashed with groups operating under the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army coalition, but coordinated with them and other Islamist armed groups under a security mechanism known as the Fatah al Mubin (Clear Victory) Operations Room. This network, in coordination with Turkey's armed forces, resisted pro-Asad forces' efforts to retake Idlib province. The arrangements were the precursor to the Military Operations Department that launched the "Deterring Aggression" operation from Idlib in November 2024 that seized Aleppo, Homs, and Hama, and ultimately toppled the Asad regime.

Footnotes

3. 8. 16. 34. 37. 39. 52.

UNHCR, Operational Data Portal, Syria Refugee Response, https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria.

.

72. Emanuel Fabian, "In historic campaign across Syria, IDF says it destroyed 80% of Assad regime's military," Times of Israel, December 10, 2024.

The report accompanying the House-passed version of the act (H.Rept. 119-231) directed the Administration to provide a briefing to the House Committee on Armed Services "not later than February 15, 2026, on the progress, challenges, and outlook for potential U.S. defense partnership with the new Syrian government." Directive report language is not legally binding, but agencies generally have regarded it as a congressional mandate and responded accordingly. 90. 99. See CRS Report R48549, Presidential 2025 Tariff Actions: Timeline and Status, by Keigh E. Hammond and William F. Burkhart.

110. 116. 121. 135.

1.	The area that now comprises Syria was long ruled as part of the Ottoman Empire and was administered by France under a mandate of the League of Nations following the First World War. Syria achieved independence from France through the 1930s and 1940s; its early history as an independent state was marked by a series of Cold War-influenced coups and regional instability. The Baath (Renaissance) Party seized power in Syria in 1963. Former president Bashar al Asad's father—Hafiz al Asad—ruled the country from 1970 until his death in 2000. The Asad family are members of the minority Alawite sect (estimated 15% of the population), which has its roots in Shiite Islam, and they cultivated Alawites as a base of support. The government violently suppressed an armed uprising led by the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1980s, killing thousands from the majority Sunni Muslim community. After taking office in 2000, Bashar Al Asad offered and retracted the prospect of limited political reform, while privileging family members and other Alawite supporters and aligning his government with Iran and non-state actors such as Hamas and Hezbollah in a complex rivalry with the United States and its Arab and non-Arab allies (including Israel). Violence in northeast Syria in 2004 highlighted unresolved tensions involving Syria's ethic Kurdish minority. In 2011, Asad met local unrest with military force, sparking an insurgency and more than a decade of conflict and foreign intervention.
2.	Alawites are a religious minority group, of which the Asad family are members. Some predominantly Alawite areas of western Syria were strongholds of the Asad family and leading regime figures.
3.	The Druze are a religious minority group with members concentrated in southern Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. The province of Suweida has been controlled by Druze armed groups since Asad's ouster and previously enjoyed informal autonomy stemming from leading Druze armed groups' neutral position in the Syrian civil war.
4.	Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), "Al-Suwayda bloodshed in seven days," July 23, 2025; and, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, Briefing to the UN Security Council, August 10, 2025.
5.	For examples of these views, see the House Financial Services Committee markup of H.R. 4427, July 22, 2025.
6Lara Seligman, "U.S. Is Withdrawing All Forces From Syria, Officials Say," Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2026.
2.	Agence France Presse (AFP), "US forces to complete withdrawal from Syria within a month: sources to AFP," February 23, 2026.
For additional background, see CRS Report R46796, Congress and the Middle East, 2011-2020: Selected Case Studies, coordinated by Christopher M. Blanchard.
74.	Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community: 2018.
85.	UN Security Council, "Amid Stalemate, Acute Suffering in Syria, Special Envoy Tells Security Council Political Solution 'Only Way Out,'" Meetings Coverage, SC/14807, February 25, 2022.
96.	UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen Briefing to the UN Security Council, August 21, 2025.
10Document S/PV.10094, UN Security Council meeting, January 22, 2026.
7.	UN Document S/2026/44, Thirty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2734 (2024), February 4, 2026.
Text of Syrian Interim Constitution as translated by SyriaReport.com; and, Evan Ward, "Syria Has a New Temporary Constitution. Here Are the Highlights," New York Times, March 14, 2025.
119.	UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen Briefing to the UN Security Council, July 28, 2025.
1210.	Reuters, "Syria delays parliamentary vote in Sweida after sectarian violence," August 24, 2025.
13.	UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen Briefing to the UN Security Council, August 21, 2025.
14.	Department of Defense, "Statement from Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell Announcing the Consolidation of Forces in Syria Under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve," April 18, 2025; Eric Schmitt, "U.S. Starts Withdrawing Hundreds of Troops from Northeastern Syria," New York Times, April 18, 2025.
15.	Amberin Zaman, "PKK ends 40-year war against Turkey, vows to pursue Kurdish rights," Al-Monitor, May 12, 2025; and Lead Inspector General for Operation Inherent Resolve (LIG-OIR), Report to the U.S. Congress, April 1 – June 30, 2025, p. 21.
16.	LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, April 1 – June 30, 2025, p. 22-23.
17.	Ambassador Barrack interview with NTV Turkey, in Raya Jalabi, "US cuts troop presence in Syria," Financial Times, June 3, 2025.
18.	Ezgi Akin, "U.S. Starts Withdrawing Hundreds of Troops from Northeastern Syria," Al-Monitor, May 12, 2025; "Türkiye, Jordan, Syria, Iraq to Discuss Security Cooperation in Amman," Asharq Al Awsat, March 8, 2025.
19.	Reuters, "US forces conduct raid in northern Syria against ISIS targets, in second since Assad's overthrow," August 20, 2025.
20Carlotta Gall, "Syria Chooses a Parliament of Revolutionaries," New York Times, October 6, 2025.
11.	On February 14, 2026, UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Claudio Cardone told the Security Council that "voting for four vacant seats in Raqqa governorate will take place in the coming weeks. Clarification is still pending on steps to fill a further 11 elected seats in Hasakah governorate and in the district of Ain-al-Arab, also known as Kobane." Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Claudio Cordone, Briefing to the Security Council, February 13, 2026.
12.	Patricia Karam, "Prospects for Syria's Democratization Under Ahmed al-Sharaa," Arab Center Washington DC, November 21, 2025.
13.	UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Najat Rochdi Briefing to the UN Security Council, October 22, 2025.
14.	In a July 2025 briefing, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said, "SDF is YPG [Kurdish acronym for People's Defense Units, a Syrian Kurdish militia]. YPG is a derivative of PKK…. But this is a huge thing in Türkiye, right. The PKK-Türkiye dilemma is really complicated. And YPG was a spinoff of PKK that we allied with to fight ISIS." State Department, "Strengthening U.S.-Türkiye Relations and Advancing Relations with Syria," July 11, 2025. In May 2025, a PKK congress decided to disband the PKK and end its armed struggle against the Turkish government, subject to various implementation steps. "Full text: PKK's statement on disbanding decision," Bianet, May 13, 2025; and Rebecca Lucas, "Disbanding the PKK: Political Engagement as the Key to Ending Insurgencies," RAND, June 10, 2025.
15.	Syrian Minister of Information Hamza Mustafa, Statement by the Syrian Government on the Ceasefire Agreement, X post, January 30, 2026, https://x.com/HmzhMo/status/2017151630978781256.
In a July 2025 briefing, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack said, "SDF is YPG …. And YPG was a spinoff of PKK that we allied with to fight ISIS." State Department, "Strengthening U.S.-Türkiye Relations and Advancing Relations with Syria," July 11, 2025.
2117.	See CRS Insight IN12473, Turkey (Türkiye) in Syria: Key U.S. Policy Issues, by Jim Zanotti and Clayton Thomas.
22.	"Turkey calls on SDF to expedite integration with Damascus," Rudaw, July 26, 2025.
23.	"Turkey-France rivalry disrupts US-led mediation between Damascus, Syrian Kurds," Al-Monitor, August 7, 2025.
24.	Ragip Soylu, "Turkey-Syria defence deal covers training and weapons supply," Middle East Eye, August 14, 2025.
25.	MEMRI Translation #11695, reviewed by CRS, Source - Al-Arabiya Network, December 29, 2024.
26.	"'We want change to be the basis for a new phase in Syria' Mazloum Abdi," Kurdistan24 (Iraq), January 28, 2025.
27.	Bassem Mroue, "US-Backed Commander Says His Kurdish-Led Group Wants a Secular and Civil State in Post-Assad Syria," AP, February 3, 2025.
2818.	MEMRI Translation #11695, reviewed by CRS, Source - Al-Arabiya Network, December 29, 2024.
19.	"'We want change to be the basis for a new phase in Syria' Mazloum Abdi," Kurdistan24 (Iraq), January 28, 2025.
20.	Jared Malsin, "A Giant ISIS Detention Facility Comes Apart in Syria's Desert," Wall Street Journal, February 17, 2026; and Carlotta Gall and Hussam Hammoud, "Power Shift in Syria Upends an Archipelago for ISIS Prisoners," New York Times, February 18, 2026.
21.	UN Document S/2025/482, Thirty-sixth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2734 (2024), July 24, 2025; and UN Document S/2026/44, Thirty-seventh report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2734 (2024), February 4, 2026.
22.	UN Documents S/2025/482 and S/2026/44, July 24, 2025, and February 4, 2026.
23.	UN Document S/2026/44, February 4, 2026.
24.	SOHR, "114 attacks since early 2025," July 27, 2025; and UN Document S/2026/44, February 4, 2026.
25.	UN Document S/2026/44, February 4, 2026.
26.	UN Document S/2026/44, February 4, 2026.
27.	"ISIS and Rebel Offshoots Challenge the Al-Sharaa Administration's Security Grip," Syria Report, May 28, 2025.
28.	"ISIS Lashes Out at Syria's Sharaa, Announces 'New Phase of Operations,'" Al Sharq Al Awsat, February 23, 2026; and Reuters, "Islamic State kills four security personnel in Syria, state news agency says," Reuters, February 23, 2026.
29.	UN Document S/2026/44, February 4, 2026.
30.	UN Document S/2026/44, February 4, 2026.
31.	UN Document S/2026/44, February 4, 2026.
32.	Reuters, "US forces conduct raid in northern Syria against ISIS targets, in second since Assad's overthrow," August 20, 2025.
33.	U.S. Central Command, "CENTCOM Forces Remove ISIS Operatives in Syria After Large-Scale Strike," December 30, 2025.
Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, Violations against civilians in Coastal and Western Central Syria in January - March 2025, UN Document A/HRC/59/CRP.4, August 11, 2025.
2935.	The body responsible is the National Inquiry and High-Level Committee to Maintain Civil Peace.
3036.	Erika Solomon et al., "Ousted and in Exile, Generals Secretly Plot Insurgency in Syria," New York Times, December 24, 2025.	Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), "Al-Suwayda bloodshed in seven days," July 23, 2025; UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, Briefings to the UN Security Council, July 28, 2025 and August 21, 2025; and UN Security Council, Statement by the President of the Security Council, UN Document S/PRST/2025/6, August 10, 2025.
3138.	UN Document S/PV.10094, UN Security Council meeting, January 22, 2026.	UN Human Rights Council, "Türk calls for immediate steps to ensure protection of people in Suweida and across Syria," July 18, 2025.
3240.	X post, Marco Rubio (@marcorubio), July 19, 2025, https://x.com/marcorubio/status/1946736912854835380.
3341.	Reuters, "Syria detains defense, interior ministry members suspected of Sweida violence," September 3, 2025.
34.	UN Document S/PRST/2025/6, Statement by the President of the Security Council, August 10, 2025.
3542.	Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat Al Hijri (alt. Hajari) has been outspoken in his criticism of interim authorities and has endorsed protective foreign intervention. Other leaders, such as Sheikhs Yusuf Jarbou and Hammoud Al Hannawi, had advocated for engagement with interim authorities and refrained from endorsing intervention. See Syrian Arab News Agency, "Sheikh Yusuf Jarbou', the spiritual leader of the Druze community: We stand by our state, refuse any foreign orientation," July 15, 2025; Reuters, "Explainer: Who are the Druze and why does Israel say it is hitting Syria for their sake?" July 17, 2025; Cathrin Schaer, "What part did Druze leader al-Hijri play in Syria violence?" July 22, 2025.
3643.	"Druze Sheikhs in Suwayda Unite in Opposition to Damascus," Enab Baladi, August 9, 2025.
3744.	"Suwayda, Southern Syria: Protests Demand Independence, Raise Israeli Flags," Enab Baladi, August 17, 2025; "What Is the "'National Guard"' Formed by Sheikh al-Hijri in Suwayda, Southern Syria?" Enab Baladi, August 24, 2025; and, Khaled Yacoub Oweis, "Druze leader issues call for separation from Syria," The National, August 26, 2025.
3845.	UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, Briefing to the UN Security Council, August 21, 2025.
39Document S/PV.10094, UN Security Council meeting, January 22, 2026. 46.	UN Document S/PRST/2025/6, Statement by the President of the Security Council, August 10, 2025.
4047.	UN Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015).
48.	UN Document S/PRST/2025/6, Statement by the President of the Security Council, August 10, 2025; and UN Document SC/16293, Security Council Press Statement on North-East Syria, February 12, 2026.
49.	See Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria at https://specialenvoysyria.unmissions.org/en.
50.	See UN Security Council, 9960th meeting, July 17, 2025, UN Document S/PRST/2025/6, Statement by the President of the Security Council, August 10, 2025; and UN Document S/2025/801, Terms of reference: Security Council field mission to the Syrian Arab Republic in December 2025, December 10, 2025.
51.	MEMRI Translation #11695, reviewed by CRS, Source - Al-Arabiya Network, December 29, 2024.
UN Document S/2025/482, Thirty-sixth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2734 (2024), July 24, 2025.
41.	SOHR, "114 attacks since early 2025:" July 27, 2025.
42.	"ISIS and Rebel Offshoots Challenge the Al-Sharaa Administration's Security Grip," Syria Report, May 28, 2025.
43.	DOD, Justification for Fiscal Year 2026, Counter-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Train and Equip Fund, June 2025.
44.	LIG-OIR, Reports to the U.S. Congress, January 1 – March 31, 2025, p. 25, and April 1 – June 30, 2025, p. 23.
45.	X post, Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec), May 14, 2025 – 4:21 AM, https://x.com/PressSec/status/1922567846317392240.
46.	UN Document S/PRST/2025/6, Statement by the President of the Security Council, August 10, 2025.
47.	UN Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015).
48.	See UN Security Council, 9960th meeting, July 17, 2025, UN Document S/PV.9960.
49.	HTS and Sharaa are designated by the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL (Da'esh), Al-Qaida, and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities. Sharaa is listed under his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al-Jawlani and an alias, with biographical information that does not correspond to his personal stated accounts and other expert accounts of his background.
50.	MEMRI Translation #11695, reviewed by CRS, Source - Al-Arabiya Network, December 29, 2024.
51.	Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria (UN OSES), "Near Verbatim Transcript of Press Conference by United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Mr. Geir O. Pedersen," January 22, 2025; and UN Document SC/15943, "Security Council Press Statement on Situation in Syria," December 17, 2024.
5253. UN Document S/PV.10094, UN Security Council meeting, January 22, 2026.	UN OSES, "Near Verbatim Transcript of Press Conference," January 22, 2025.
53.	UN OSES, Statement Attributable to United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Mr. Geir O. Pedersen, April 3, 2025.
54.	UN Document S/PV.9857, Remarks of UN SES Pederson to the UN Security Council, February 12, 2025; and, UN OSES, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen10094, UN Security Council meeting, January 22, 2026; and Deputy Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Claudio Cordone, Briefing to the Security Council, March 25, 2025February 13, 2026.
55.	IOM, Population Mobility and Baseline Assessment: Syrian Arab Republic Round 12 – January 2026; and UNHCR, Comprehensive Overview of IDPs and IDP Returns Dashboard, February 12, 2026.
56.
55.	UN OSES, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen Briefing to the Security Council, August 10, 2025.
56.	UNHCR, Syria Governorates IDPs and IDP Returnees Overview, August 21, 2025.
57.	UNHCR, Operational Data Portal, Syria Refugee Response, at https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria; and, Regional Flash Update #41, August 22, 2025 IOM, Population Mobility and Baseline Assessment: Syrian Arab Republic Round 12 – January 2026.
58.	UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response Priorities, Syrian Arab Republic, January – December 2025.
59.	UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, Briefing to the UN Security Council, March 25, 2025. The annual UN funding appeal for Syria in 2024 totaled $4.07 billion, and donors provided $1.91 billion, not all of which was provided under the UN appeal. The United States provided $1.179 billion in humanitarian assistance in Syria and the region during U.S. fiscal year (FY) 2024, including more than 27% of the funds directed through the 2024 UN-coordinated plan. See https://fts.unocha.org/plans/1175/summary.
60.	UNOCHA, Syrian Arab Republic: Humanitarian Situation Report No. 6 (as of 27 May 2025), June 2, 2025; and, UNOCHA Geneva Head Ramesh Rajasingham, Briefing to the UN Security Council, May 21, 2025.
61.	Rajasingham, May 21, 2025; UNOCHA Director of Operations and Advocacy Edem Wosornu, Briefing to the UN Security Council, July 28, 2025; and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, Briefing to the UN Security Council, August 21, 2025.
62.	UNOCHA, Humanitarian Response Priorities, Syrian Arab Republic, January – December 2025.
63.	See, for example, U.S. State Department, Country Reports on Terrorism 2023: Syria, November 2024; and, annual threat assessments of the Director of National Intelligence, 2014-2024.
64.	U.S. State Department, Country Reports on Terrorism 2023: Syria, November 2024.
65.	Lead Inspector General for Operation Inherent Resolve (LIG-OIR), Report to the U.S. Congress, October 1, 2024–December 31, 2024, p. 11.
66.	Warren P. Strobel, Ellen Nakashima, and Missy Ryan, "U.S. shared secret intelligence with Syria's new leaders," Washington Post, January 24, 2025.
6766.	UN Document S/2025/482, Thirty-sixth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted pursuant to resolution 2734 (2024), July 24, 2025.
6867.	"Exclusive - US gives nod to Syria to bring foreign jihadist ex-rebels into army," Reuters, June 2, 2025.
6968.	Reuters, "Syria's Sharaa aims to restore US ties, no contacts yet with Trump administration," February 4, 2025.
7069.	OPCW, "OPCW urges Syria to fulfil Chemical Weapons Convention obligations," December 12, 2024.
7170.	OPCW, "Syria's caretaker Foreign Minister addresses OPCW's Executive Council," March 5, 2025.
	71.	OPCW Executive Council, EC-110/DG.2, July 24, 2025.	OPCW Executive Council, Report by the Director-General Progress in the Elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme, EC-110/DG.2, July 24, 2025.
73.	For related reporting, see OPCW Executive Council, Reports by the Director-General on Progress in the Elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme, https://www.opcw.org/media-centre/featured-topics/opcw-and-syria. In January 2026, the OPCW reported that "Since March 2025, the Secretariat has visited 19 locations (4 declared and 15 suspected chemical weapons-related locations), conducted interviews with former chemical weapons experts, collected 10 samples, and obtained over 6,000 documents from the locations visited." OPCW Executive Council, EC-111/DG.4, January 23, 2026OPCW Executive Council, EC-110/DG.2, July 24, 2025.
74.	OPCW Executive Council, EC-111/DG.4, January 23, 2026.	75.
7576.	For more information, see, U.S. State Department Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, 2024; and, Caroline Rose and Matthew Zweig, "What Will Happen to Assad's Secret Drug Empire?" Foreign Policy, January 16, 2025.
7677.	U.S. State Department, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Syria, 2024, August 12, 2025.
7778.	"US removes $10M bounty on leader of rebel group now in charge of Syria," Voice of America, December 20, 2024.
7879.	Timour Azhari, "US flag raised in Damascus, envoy says Syria-Israel peace is possible," Reuters, May 29, 2025.
79.	Department of Defense, "Statement from Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell Announcing the Consolidation of Forces in Syria Under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve," April 18, 2025.
80.	"PKK ends 40-year war against Turkey, vows to pursue Kurdish rights," Al-Monitor, May 12, 2025; and LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, April 1 – June 30, 2025, p. 21.
81.	Interview with NTV Turkey, in Raya Jalabi, "US cuts troop presence in Syria," Financial Times, June 3, 2025.
82.	LIG-OIR, Report to Congress, October 1 – December 31, 2023, February 2024.
83.	LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, April 1, 2025–June 30, 2025, p. 24.
84.	LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, April 1, 2025–June 30, 2025, p. 23.
85.	LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, April 1, 2025–June 30, 2025, p. 30-31.
86.	U.S. Mission to the United Nations, "Remarks by Ambassador Shea," February 12, 2025.
87.	U.S. Mission to the United Nations, "Remarks by Ambassador Shea," February 12, 2025.
88.	LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, April 1 – June 30, 2025, pp. 31-33.
89.	LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, April 1 – June 30, 2025, pp. 31-33. According to USAID responses to LIG-OIR, "At the start of 2025, USAID BHA Syria managed 29 programs valued at $631,172,513. By the end of the quarter, 16 programs—worth $218,174,924—were terminated, while 14 remained active, totaling $412,998,589." Additionally, USAID reported that "the rapid and chaotic termination of awards disrupted implementers' internal controls, making it difficult to carry out proper closeout procedures. Staffing cuts limited their capacity for documentation, oversight, audits, and monitoring. The accelerated closure of sub-awards created pressure to spend remaining funds quickly, raising the risk of financial mismanagement."
90.	LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, April 1 – June 30, 2025, pp. 35-36.
91.	U.S. Department of State, FY2026 Congressional Budget Justification, accessed June 2, 2025.
9280.	Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shaibani (@AsaadHShaibani) X post, November 10, 2025, https://x.com/AsaadHShaibani/status/1988018696800096368.
81.	Enab Baladi, "Who is Mohammad Qanatari Syria's chargé d'affaires in Washington?" January 28, 2026.
82.
83.	LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, July 1 – December 31, 2025, pp. 33-37.
84.	LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, July 1 – December 31, 2025, pp. 33-37.
85.	LIG-OIR, Reports to the U.S. Congress, April 1 – June 30, 2025, pp. 31-33; and July 1 – Dec. 31, 2025, pp. 33-37.
86.	U.S. Department of State, FY2026 Congressional Budget Justification, accessed June 2, 2025.
87.	The White House, Proclamations, Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States, December 16, 2025.
88.	Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Termination of the Designation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status," 90 Federal Register 45398, September 22, 2025. Temporary Protected Status is a temporary immigration benefit granted to eligible nationals of a country designated by the Secretary for Temporary Protected Status under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), or to eligible aliens without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country. During the designation period, Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries are eligible to remain in the United States, may not be removed, and are authorized to work and obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) so long as they continue to meet the requirements of Temporary Protected Status.
89.	Additionally, approximately 250 or fewer Syrian nationals were affirmatively granted asylum in the United States in each of the fiscal years from 2021 to 2023. See U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Homeland Security Statistics, Refugees: 2024, August 12, 2025; and Asylees: 2023, October 2, 2024.
President Trump in 2019 issued Executive Order 13894, which declared a national emergency based on U.S. concerns about the actions of the Turkish military in Syria. In October 2024, President Biden renewed that national emergency declaration for one year. See 84 Federal Register 55851 and 89 Federal Register 82929.
9391.	Ben Hubbard, Jonathan Swan, and Erika Solomon, "Trump Says U.S. Will Lift Sanctions on Syria Under New Government," New York Times, May 14, 2025.
9492.	In 2019, Congress enacted the Caesar Act, requiring the President to impose sanctions on persons the President determines to have knowingly provided significant support or knowingly engaged in significant transactions with the government of Syria, entities it owns or controls, and its senior officials; certain military or mercenary forces; or to be subject to sanctions with respect to Syria under U.S. law; and those who knowingly sell or provide significant goods, services, technology or other support related to a number of economic sectors, including natural gas, petroleum, and "significant construction or engineering services" for the government of Syria. Congress extended the sunset of the Caesar Act through December 2029 in the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act.
9593.	FINCEN, "Exception to Prohibition Imposed by Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act against the Commercial Bank of Syria," May 23, 2025; U.S. State Department, "Providing Sanctions Relief for the Syrian People," May 23, 2025; OFAC, "General License No. 25, Authorizing Transactions Prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations or Involving Certain Blocked Persons," May 23, 2025.
9694.	Designation as a state sponsor of acts of international terrorism under Section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 or Section 1754(c) of the Export Control Reform Act of 2019 restricts export licensing for controlled goods and services; Section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 prohibits most U.S. foreign aid, Peace Corps programs, nonemergency agricultural aid, and Export-Import Bank funding; and Section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act prohibits sales and transfers of arms and related goods and services. See 50 U.S.C. §4813(c), 22 U.S.C. §2371(a), and 22 U.S.C. §2780(d), respectively. Section 1768 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2019 continues designations made under Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979, which Section 1766 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2019 repealed nearly entirely. This designation also deprives targeted governments of sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act from lawsuits based on certain acts of terrorism. See 28 U.S.C. §1605a. Designation as a state sponsor of international terrorism has implications elsewhere in law, see CRS Report R43835, State Sponsors of Acts of International Terrorism—Legislative Parameters: In Brief.
9795.	Federal Register, Public Notice 12762, July 8, 2025.
9896.	Federal Register, 90 FR 41505, August 2690 Federal Register 46056, September 25, 2025.
9997.	State Department, "Revocation of the Designation of Muhammad al-Jawlani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist," 90 Federal Register 55231, December 1, 2025.
98.	22 U.S.C. §2781. The Secretary of State makes this determination annually by May 15; Syria has been designated each year since the provision was first enacted in 1996. U.S. State Department, Tammy Bruce, Department Spokesperson, "Certification of Cuba as a Not Fully Cooperating Country," May 13, 2025.
For example, provisions of the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (P.L. 106-178; 50 U.S.C. §§1701 note), Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (title III, P.L. 102-182; 22 U.S.C. §§5601 et seq.), Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (title IV, P.L. 110-457; 22 U.S.C. §§2370c et seq.), and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (div. A, P.L. 106-386; 22 U.S.C. §§7101 et seq.) have been applied to impose sanctions on Syria. Other statutes such as the Illicit Captagon Trafficking Suppression Act (div. P, P.L. 118-50; 50 U.S.C. §§1701 note), the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, as amended (Sections 7401-7402, 7411-7413, 7421-7426, 7431-7438, title LXXIV, div. F of P.L. 116-92; 22 U.S.C. §8791 note), the Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 (Title VII, P.L. 112-158 (Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012; 22 U.S.C. §§8791-8795), and the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-175; 22 U.S.C. §2151 note) provide authority for sanctions that may be applied to entities in Syria.
100.	Secretary of State Marco Rubio, "Providing Sanctions Relief for the Syrian People," May 23, 2025.
101.	U.S. Department of the Treasury, "Treasury Issues Immediate Sanctions Relief for Syria," May 23, 2025.
102.	22 U.S.C. §2781. The Secretary of State makes this determination annually by May 15; Syria has been designated each year since the provision was first enacted in 1996. U.S. State Department, Tammy Bruce, Department Spokesperson, "Certification of Cuba as a Not Fully Cooperating Country," May 13, 2025.
103.	The EU measures target the Sultan Sulaiman Shah Brigade, the Hamza Division, and the Sultan Murad Division. Official Journal of the European Union, Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/1110 of 28 May 2025.
104.	See, 100. The Administration's July 2025 amendment of E.O. 13894 (2019) preserves a framework for the potential imposition of sanctions on actors in Syria for "(1) actions or policies that further threaten the peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity of Syria; or (2) the commission of serious human rights abuse." 90 Federal Register 41505, August 26, 2025.
101.	Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, "Amendment to the Syria-Related Sanctions Regulations," 90 Federal Register 46056, September 25, 2025.
102.
105103.	The White House, Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates, July 31, 2025.
106.	U.S. International Trade Administration, TradeStats Express data accessed August 1, 2025.
107.	The redesignation became effective April 1, 2024 and is slated to last through September 30, 2025. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data provided to CRS, as of March 31, 2025, 3,860 nationals of Syria were covered by TPS. In conjunction with the redesignation, certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for Syrian beneficiaries of TPS were extended through March 31, 2025. See U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Extension and Redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status," 89 Federal Register 5562, January 29, 2024; and, CRS Report RS20844, Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure, by Jill H. Wilson.
108.	Approximately 250 or fewer Syrian nationals were affirmatively granted asylum in the United States in each of the fiscal years from 2021 to 2023. See U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Homeland Security Statistics, Refugees: 2023, November 8, 2024; and, Asylees: 2023, October 2, 2024.
109.	"Israeli military says commandos raided missile plant in Syria in September," Reuters, January 2, 2025.
110.	UN Document S/2024/887, December 9, 2024.
111104.	The White House, "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes a Temporary Import Duty to Address Fundamental International Payment Problems," February 20, 2026. See also CRS Legal Sidebar LSB11398, Supreme Court Rules Against Tariffs Imposed Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), by Christopher T. Zirpoli.
105.	U.S. Census Bureau, "U.S. trade in goods with Syria," data accessed February 24, 2026.
106.	"Israeli military says commandos raided missile plant in Syria in September," Reuters, January 2, 2025.
107.	Susannah George and Tobi Raji, "Syrian president details plans to work with Americans he once fought," Washington Post, November 11, 2025.
108.	"Exclusive: Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security, sources say," Reuters, May 27, 2025.
109.	UN Document S/2024/887, December 9, 2024.
Israeli Prime Minister's Office, "PM Netanyahu's Statement from the Golan Heights," December 8, 2024.
112111.	Loveday Morris, Zakaria Zakaria, and Meg Kelly, "Israel is building outposts in Syria, raising local fears of occupation," Washington Post, February 2, 2025.
113112.	"Syria urges IDF withdrawal from buffer zone in talks with UN observers," AFP/Times of Israel, January 29, 2025.
114.	"Netanyahu says Israel won't allow Syrian forces 'south of Damascus,'" AP, February 23, 2025; and, Sudarsan Raghavan, "Israel's Demilitarization Demand Tests Syria's Shaky Government," Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2025.
115.	Times of Israel, "Katz confirms Israeli strikes in southern Syria: 'We will not allow it to become southern Lebanon,'" February 25, 2025.
116.	"Exclusive: Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security, sources say," Reuters, May 27, 2025.
117.	"An interview with Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's president," The Economist, February 4, 2025.
118113.	More than 100,000 Druze live in the Golan Heights. Israeli Druze serve in the Israel Defense Forces and many have ties to the Druze community in Syria. During the July fighting, Israeli and Syrian Druze both crossed their respective borders to defend coreligionists. "Israeli military strikes near Syria's presidential palace after warning over sectarian attacks," Associated Press, May 2, 2025; and, "Syrians in predominantly Druze city reject Israeli statements, affirm national unity," Arab News, February 25, 2025 .
119114.	Dov Lieber, Summer Said, and Jared Malsin et al., "Israeli Troops Raid Site Deep Inside Syria, Damascus Says," Wall Street Journal, August 29, 2025.
120115.	Reham Mourshed and Euan Ward, "Israeli Raid in Southern Syria Kills at Least 13, Syrian Officials Say," New York Times, November 28, 2025.	"Syria has had indirect talks with Israel to calm situation, Syrian leader says," Reuters, May 7, 2025; and, Euan Ward and Gabby Sobelman, "After Deadly Clashes, Syria and Israel Hold Direct Talks," New York Times, August 20, 2025.
121.	Khaled Yacoub Oweis, "Syrian authorities ease roadblocks near Sweida ahead of possible reopening of Damascus road," The National, August 21, 2025.
122117.	"An interview with Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's president," The Economist, February 4, 2025; France 24, "Syria, Israel hold US-mediated talks in Paris on regional de-escalation," August 20, 2025; Agence France Press, "Israel says in talks 'right now' on south Syria demilitarization, August 28, 2025.
123.	"Israel, Turkey said to agree to prevent clashes in Syria, establish hotline," Times of Israel, May 21, 2025.
124118.	U.S. State Department, "Joint Statement on the Trilateral Meeting Between the Governments of the United States of America, the State of Israel, and the Syrian Arab Republic," January 6, 2026.
119.	"Israel, Turkey said to agree to prevent clashes in Syria, establish hotline," Times of Israel, May 21, 2025.
120.	Lior Ben Ari, "Report in Syria: Russian military delegation toured Quneitra area," Ynet News, November 17, 2025.
Soylu, "Turkey-Syria defence deal covers training and weapons supply."
125122.	Ezgi Akin, "After inking military pact, Turkey to provide Syria with weapons, training," Al-Monitor, August 14, 2025.
126123.	Soylu, "Turkey-Syria defence deal covers training and weapons supply."
127124.	Akin, "After inking military pact, Turkey to provide Syria with weapons, training."
128125.	UNHCR Operational Data Portal, Syria Refugee Response, at https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria.
129126.	Saudi Press Agency, "Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Turkiye, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Egypt Support Syrian Sovereignty," July 18, 2025.
130127.	MEMRI Translation #11695, reviewed by CRS, Source - Al-Arabiya Network, December 29, 2024.
131128.	Jerusalem Post, "IDF opens fire on armed group in Syrian Golan, pro-Assad group claims responsibility," February 1, 2025.
132129.	LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, April 1, 2025–June 30, 2025, p. 26.
133130.	Paul Iddon, "What Russia's Military Is Doing In This Strategic Syria Airport," Forbes, August 15, 2025.
134131.	Christina Goldbaum, "Syria's Jihadist-Turned-President Seeks New Allies," New York Times, April 23, 2025.
135132.	Reuters, "Russia's Putin meets Syrian FM in Moscow, Sharaa invited to Russia-Arab summit," July 31, 2025.
136.	The act did not include a Senate-reported provision that would have required the Administration to certify the independent capabilities of U.S.-backed Syrian forces before reducing the number of U.S. troops in northeast Syria below 400.
137.	Reuters, "Syria's Sharaa aims to restore US ties, no contacts yet with Trump administration," February 4, 2025.
138.	Ben Hubbard, Jonathan Swan, and Erika Solomon, "Trump Says U.S. Will Lift Sanctions on Syria Under New Government," New York Times, May 14, 2025.
139.	Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, "The Syrian People Will Decide the Future of Syria," December 10, 2024.
140133. See S. 3740 and Office of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, "Graham, Blumenthal Introduce Save The Kurds Act," January 29, 2026.
134.	The act did not include a Senate-reported provision that would have required the Administration to certify the independent capabilities of U.S.-backed Syrian forces before reducing the number of U.S. troops in northeast Syria below 400.
For a review of these programs see LIG-OIR, Report to the U.S. Congress, October 1, 2024–December 31, 2024, ppp. 84-99.
141136.	Biographical and historical information drawn from: Frontline, "The Frontline Interviews: The Jihadist," June 1, 2021; Raya Jalabi, "The secret history of Syria's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa," FT Magazine, March 7, 2025; Aaron Zelin, interview with John Haltiwanger, "What to Know About the Man Who Toppled Assad, Foreign Policy, December 11, 2024; Zelin, "Jihadi 'Counterterrorism:' Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Versus the Islamic State," U.S. Military Academy Combatting Terrorism Center (CTC), CTC Sentinel, February 2023; Hassan Hassan, "Two Houses Divided: How Conflict in Syria Shaped the Future of Jihadism," CTC Sentinel, October 2018; and Charles Lister, "How al-Qa`ida Lost Control of its Syrian Affiliate: The Inside Story," CTC Sentinel, February 2018.
142137.	PBS Frontline Interview with Nada Bakos, Frontline, "The Frontline Interviews: The Jihadist," June 1, 2021.
143138.	Sharaa reportedly was detained while using a false identity.
144139.	U.S. State Department, "Terrorist Designations of the al-Nusrah Front as an Alias for al-Qa'ida in Iraq," December 11, 2012.
145140.	France24/Agence France Presse (AFP), "Syria's al Nusra militants vow allegiance to al Qaeda," April 10, 2013.