Overview

• The UK Treasury has lifted sanctions on Syria's defence and interior ministries, as well as its General Intelligence Directorate, Air Force Intelligence Agency, and Political Security Directorate.
• This marks a significant policy shift by the UK, though its impact remains limited without parallel sanctions relief from the United States.
• Syria’s interim government, led by former Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham figures, has arrested two senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders, aligning with US reform demands.
• The US has tied broader sanctions relief to eight key conditions, including banning Palestinian armed groups and restructuring Syria’s security forces.
• President Ahmed al-Sharaa has urged Western nations to lift sanctions, framing them as punitive measures against crimes of the previous Assad regime.