While many Syrians are understandably celebrating the end of these crushing sanctions (and the end of the brutal Assad regime), it would be interesting to know what they think of normalizing with Israel. The populations of Sudan and Morocco were against it.
The wider context that also wasn't mentioned on The Current is that, aside from Israel, the US' closest allies in the region are Saudi and UAE. Syria has for years been their enemy, more allied with Iran and Hezbollah. al-Sharaa seems keen to ally with US/Suadi/UAE/Israel.
So, ending the sanctions and getting Syria to normalize with Israel (after 77 years of refusing to) brings Syria into the US sphere of influence big time.
And yes Trump also has ego-driven reasons for ending sanctions, but it would be naive to think that's *the* reason.
The Current analyst only briefly mentioned Abraham Accords but not about the significance of it (Israel has been central to Syria-US relations for decades). Instead, talked about Trump being a disappointment to Israel, which is ironic given what the Abraham Accords are.
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And yes Trump also has ego-driven reasons for ending sanctions, but it would be naive to think that's *the* reason.