US President Donald Trump has revoked a range of sanctions on Syria, including sanctions on US imports of Syrian oil, effective July 1, 2025, according to an executive order issued June 30.

Among other measures, the order terminates an executive order issued by the Obama administration in August 2011 that blocked US imports of Syrian petroleum and petroleum products.

“The United States is committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified and at peace with itself and its neighbors,” the executive order said.

The order removes sanctions on Syria while maintaining sanctions on the former Syrian President Bashar Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, persons linked to chemical weapons activities, ISIS and their affiliates and Iranian proxies, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a June 30 press briefing.

The order comes after Trump announced on May 13 that he planned to lift sanctions. The US then issued a temporary sanctions waiver on May 23 to facilitate investment in the country’s energy and utility sectors.

Since then, Syrian officials have set their sights on reviving a once lucrative oil export business. Before the country was thrown into civil war in 2011, Syria was a significant crude exporter to the Mediterranean market.

Syria’s crude production has fallen to roughly 90,000 b/d from 442,000 b/d in 2004, S&P Global Commodity Insights data shows.

Syria resumed fuel shipments from its largest refinery, Banias, for the first time in over six months on June 16, in a sign of normalization for the country’s energy sector.

Leavitt also clarified that the US is still in communication with Iran, despite recent comments from Trump.

Trump, in the early hours of June 30, said, “I am not offering Iran anything,” according to a post on his Truth social media platform. “Nor am I even talking to them since we totally obliterated their nuclear facilities.”

When asked about the post, Leavitt clarified that Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, has been in direct and indirect communication with the Iranians, and that communication continues. But Trump himself has not talked to Iran, she said.
Source: Platts