The Impact of US Sanctions on Syria and the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 1979, the United States listed Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism. The George W. Bush administration issued a series of sanctions under executive orders aiming to limit Syria's destabilizing influence in Iraq. After the 2011 uprising, the Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations sanctioned the Assad regime on an unprecedented scale for its gross human rights violations against his people. These sanctions have had little to no effect in pushing the regime to offer political concessions or improve its human rights record.