President Donald Trump kicked off his trip to the Gulf with a surprise announcement that the United States will lift long-standing sanctions on Syria, and a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US.

Complicating the task are sanctions imposed under the "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act," also known as the "Caesar Act,” which was passed in 2019 and extended late last yea

President Donald Trump’s announcement from Saudi Arabia that his administration intends to lift wide-ranging sanctions on Syria sparked jubilation in the capital, Damascus, as a population long impoverished by the restrictions was finally able to hope for relief.