Israeli officials reportedly requested that some sanctions would remain imposed, to be used as leverage for future negotiations with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shaara.
The United States refused an Israeli request to refrain from removing all sanctions on Syria, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported on Saturday evening. As per the report, officials close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approached counterparts from US President Donald Trump's administration, requesting that some sanctions would remain imposed to be used as leverage for future negotiations with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shaara.
Trump admin. officials rejected the request, and reportedly promised to "compensate" Israel for the refusal, two Israeli sources told KAN. Earlier in December, the US House of Representatives voted to pass a $900 billion defense policy bill, which includes a provision to repeal a set of US sanctions on Syria that were imposed under its former leader, Bashar al-Assad.
The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act applied wide-ranging sanctions on Syria, targeting individuals, companies, and institutions linked to Assad. In May, Trump said he planned on removing the sanctions after meeting with al-Sharaa. (Source)
