The United States and the United Arab Emirates have discussed the possibility of lifting sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if it cuts ties with Iran and cuts off weapons supplies to the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Reuters writes about this with reference to sources.
Talk of lifting restrictions has intensified in recent months as broad US sanctions against Syria could expire on December 20. And also the reason was the struggle of Israel against the proxy forces of Iran — "Hezbollah" in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The discussions came before Syrian rebels launched an offensive against Bashar al-Assadʼs forces and captured Aleppo, the countryʼs second-largest city. Reuters sources say the opposition offensive is a signal that there are weaknesses in Assadʼs alliance with Iran that the Emirates and the US want to exploit. However, if Assad uses Iranʼs help to counter-offensive, it will complicate the efforts of the UAE and the US to drive a wedge between them.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi visited Syria in a show of support for the Assad regime, while UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke to Assad by phone about the latest developments.
The United Arab Emirates has played a key role in Assadʼs rehabilitation among the mostly Sunni Muslim Arab states, which shunned him when he accepted help from Shiite, non-Arab Iran to quell the Sunni-led uprising against him.
For example, the Emirates hosted Assad in 2022, which was his first visit to an Arab country since the beginning of the war. The Arab League later reinstated Syriaʼs membership.
The Emirates have long been trying to distance Assad from Iran and establish business ties with Syria, but this is hindered by US sanctions.
The US imposed sanctions on Syria after Bashar al-Assad suppressed protests against him in 2011. Washington has repeatedly tightened restrictions in subsequent years. The sanctions apply to all Syrian business sectors, anyone dealing with Syria, regardless of nationality, and those doing business with Russian and Iranian entities in Syria. The sanctions will expire on December 20 unless US lawmakers extend them.
What preceded
Active clashes between the rebels and Syrian troops began on November 27. The offensive was launched by the Syrian Revolutionary Forces in "response to months of continuous attacks on civilians" by the Assad regime in Aleppo province. It was the most intense fighting in northwest Syria since 2020, when government forces seized areas previously controlled by opposition fighters. It is also the biggest advance by opposition fighters on the city since they were pushed out of the eastern districts in 2016.
On November 30, the Syrian Armed Forces declared a "temporary withdrawal" from Aleppo to prepare a counteroffensive against opposition groups. As early as December 1, the media reported that the Assadʼs Forces had lost control of Aleppo — for the first time since the beginning of the military conflict that began more than ten years ago.
Ukrainian intelligence says that Russian troops are suffering losses during the fighting in Syria. Against this background, the Russian Federation changed the commander of forces in the region — he became General Oleksandr Chaiko, who commanded a group of Russian troops in Syria in 2017-2019. GUR noted that it currently knows about "hundreds" of Russians who are considered missing there.
Civil war in Syria
The civil war in Syria has been going on since 2011. It began as a local confrontation, which gradually turned into an uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Over time, it involved not only the main states of the region, but also international organizations, military-political groups and other countries.
The main participants in the conflict are regular military formations that support President Bashar Assad, formations of the "moderate" Syrian opposition, Kurdish regionalists, as well as various terrorist groups. The parties to the conflict receive military aid from other countries: government forces are supported by Russia and Iran, while the Syrian opposition receives aid from Western countries, Turkey and the Gulf monarchies.
The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah also helped the Assad regime in the civil war and was present in Syria. However, it has now concentrated its forces in Lebanon to repel the Israeli offensive in the south of the country. During this conflict, Hezbollah lost thousands of fighters, as well as its commanders and leader Hassan Nasrallah.
As for Russia, since 2011 it has come to the aid of President Bashar Assad. Russia sent weapons to the country, which were accumulated by the Syrian troops, and also kept its own military bases with weapons there. In 2015, the Russians began to fight on the territory of Syria together with Hezbollah fighters. Now, videos and photos are being circulated on social networks, in which fighters from the Syrian opposition have allegedly captured Russian military equipment, including machine guns and tanks.
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