The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Tuesday that his government will lift the sanctions imposed on Syria to “give them the opportunity to be great” after the fall of Bashar al Assad’s regime, as part of a new strategy that will include high-level contacts.
Trump, who has reviewed the situation in the Middle East during a speech at an economic forum in Riyadh, has confirmed that he will order the lifting of sanctions and that this week his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will hold a first meeting in Turkey with the Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad al Shaibani, amid strong applause from those present.
The president has positioned himself as the antithesis of the “extreme weakness and broad incompetence” that he attributes to his predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden, whom he has accused of giving wings to regimes like the Iranian while “they laughed at him”.
“They took him for a fool,” he stated, even going as far as repeating slogans such as if he had remained in the White House, the conflict in Ukraine would not have erupted and Hamas would not have dared to launch the attacks on October 7, 2023.
The current administration has initiated a new dialogue process with Tehran, and Trump insisted this Tuesday that he wants to reach some kind of agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, among other things. He has urged them to accept “the olive branch,” warning that otherwise they will face “maximum pressure” in the form of sanctions.
“Now is the time to choose. We don’t have much time, everything is happening very quickly,” he warned during a speech in which he also highlighted the “destructive” nature of the Iranian regime due to its relationships with other groups in the region, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels.
“While Arab countries have focused on being pillars of regional stability and global trade, Iranian leaders have focused on robbing their people to finance terrorism and massacres abroad. And what is more tragic, they have dragged the entire region along with them,” he lamented.
Trump, who has boasted on several occasions about successes in the fight against terrorism, has stated that the United States “will not show mercy” to those who try to harm its interests or its allies, as would have been evident with the Houthi rebels, who “agreed to stop” attacks after military bombings.
THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS
On the other hand, the tenant of the White House has claimed the importance of the Abraham Accords, under which Israel normalized relations with several Arab countries, and has expressed confidence in a future adherence of Saudi Arabia, although at the same time has indicated that it will do so “in due time.”
In fact, he has not spared praise for Riyadh’s political and economic path and for the figure of its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, a “great man”. With him, he signed a commitment on Tuesday to invest 600 billion dollars (538.557 billion euros).