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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Michael Hanna @mwhanna.crisisgroup.org · 26/06/2025

Very pleased to see this report out. Core lesson from this short-lived experience is that Washington was right to impose consequences on settler violence, but sanctions alone are a limited tool absent a broader policy on settlements. Great to work with my old friends @centuryintl.bsky.social on this

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Policymakers in the United States and elsewhere should learn from this experience when deploying sanctions in the future. 5/5

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Washington was right to impose consequences on settler violence. But sanctions cannot be truly effective as long as they are a surrogate for a broader policy on Israel’s settlements. 4/5

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

But it is clear that the sanctions failed to stem rising settler violence during the eleven months they were in effect—and became burdened by loopholes and backlash over the course of their brief existence. 3/5

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

President Trump scrapped the sanctions on his first day in office, and it is impossible to know whether the sanctions regime would have ultimately evolved into a more effective policy under a different American administration. 2/5

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Tune in to my interview on the CBC with Canadian journalism legend Susan Ormiston. I discuss with the great @edwardfishman.bsky.social and Andrea Charron whether economic punishment actually shapes behavior — or just creates diplomatic noise.🎙️ Listen here: www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

cbc.ca

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

My latest in @foreignpolicy.com. Trump has promised to lift sanctions on Syria. I explain why it's not that easy to fully end the sanctions—and their effects. foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/02/t...

foreignpolicy.com

It’s Not That Easy to Lift Sanctions on Syria

Other presidents have struggled with political and logistical obstacles when trying to effect a rollback.

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

The chance to improve Libya’s long-term future should not be missed. Modest reforms carry low risk and could better protect Libyan wealth. They would also boost the credibility of UN sanctions, which risk fair criticism as outdated. The Council and LIA should take action. End/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

🚩The Council should pursue further sanctions reforms to let the fund grow, but maintain safeguards 🚩With no imminent resolution to Libya’s political crisis, they should set a realistic plan for long-term sanctions relief 🚩LIA must improve its credibility and transparency 8/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

The reforms remove important curbs on the fund, but sanctions still block it from growing to its full potential. What should be done? 7/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

In January 2025, the Security Council made a novel decision to reform the LIA sanctions regime by allowing the fund to invest its cash reserves, as long as the reinvested funds and the interest they accrue remain frozen. 6/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

But sanctions may have also saved the LIA. After the revolution, other Libyan institutions were dogged by allegations of corruption and misappropriation. The LIA was not, at least not on the same scale. Sanctions protected the LIA from graft. 5/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Years of sanctions have curbed the LIA's growth. Billions of dollars sat in cash for 10+ years without the LIA being able to reinvest them. The LIA's growth stagnated while other wealth funds, and the markets, soared. 4/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Almost 15 years after the revolution, Libya is still embroiled in political and economic turmoil. Political elites benefit from the country’s enormous oil wealth, but the Libyan people see little of it. 3/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

I went to Tripoli with my colleague @claudiagazzini.bsky.social to understand what the sanctions on the fund, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), mean for Libyans. 2/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

As in centuries past, those who wield famine as a weapon will be able to deny or hide what they are doing – and responsible actors will find their ability to cry foul radically diminished. 4/4

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

We could return to the grim situation of the last century, where great famines – meaning those with death tolls in the hundreds of thousands – are the norm. Yet most of the world may not even realise that a famine is taking place. 3/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

More frequent and deadlier famines are likely since the Trump administration's moves to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and slash U.S. foreign aid budgets. 2/

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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 24/01/2025

@delaneysimon.bsky.social for @lawfare.bsky.social on the limitations of U.S. sanctions relief so far for post-Assad Syria, and what more the Trump administration should now do to help stabilize the country's economy: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/u.s....

lawfaremedia.org

U.S. Sanctions Relief for Syria Is an Important Start, but Not Enough

The Trump administration must offer bolder reforms if it wants to prevent the new Syria from descending into chaos.

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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Esfandyar Batmanghelidj @yarbatman.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

"Washington should take advantage of the opportunity to shape Syria’s future for the better and remove the obstacles it has placed in its path. Inaction could place a millstone around Syria’s neck." Smart view on Syria sanctions from @delaneysimon.bsky.social. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/u.s....

lawfaremedia.org

U.S. Sanctions Relief for Syria Is an Important Start, but Not Enough

The Trump administration must offer bolder reforms if it wants to prevent the new Syria from descending into chaos.

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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · 23/01/2025

Following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian people have serious challenges as they rebuild their society—including U.S. sanctions. @delaneysimon.bsky.social explains the reforms the Trump administration could implement to prevent Syria from descending into chaos.

lawfaremedia.org

U.S. Sanctions Relief for Syria Is an Important Start, but Not Enough

The Trump administration must offer bolder reforms if it wants to prevent the new Syria from descending into chaos.

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

But it's not nearly enough. In the article, I explain what the license does and doesn't do, and what's needed to enable true recovery in Syria. Washington should take advantage of the opportunity to shape Syria’s future for the better and remove the obstacles it has placed in its path. 3/3

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

The enormous web of overlapping sanctions that the U.S. and other countries imposed on the Assad regime is choking Syria's economy. The General License that the U.S. Treasury issued earlier this month to ease some of the sanctions is a crucial step. 2/3

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

As I wrote in @lawfare.bsky.social, President Trump should offer bolder sanctions reforms than Biden did if he wants to prevent Syria from descending into chaos. 1/3 🧵 www.lawfaremedia.org/article/u.s....

lawfaremedia.org

U.S. Sanctions Relief for Syria Is an Important Start, but Not Enough

The Trump administration must offer bolder reforms if it wants to prevent the new Syria from descending into chaos.

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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 16/01/2025

Syria’s new leaders seem eager to curry favor with the West, and international leaders should engage with them to set Syria up for success, argue @delaneysimon.bsky.social, Graeme Smith, and Jerome Drevon.

foreignaffairs.com

Don’t Repeat in Syria the Mistakes of Afghanistan

Isolating Damascus's new rulers won't moderate them.

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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Sunniva Rose @sunnivarose.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

When trying to gauge the possible impact of the lifting of sanctions on Syria, many analysts look back at when the EU lifted sanctions on Iran in 2016. At the time, EU companies struggled. www.thenationalnews.com/news/europe/...

thenationalnews.com

European talks on Syria sanctions relief overshadowed by doubts on Trump’s moves | The National

EU efforts widely hailed as important but full co-ordination must wait for Washington’s new rulers

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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Sunniva Rose @sunnivarose.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

European foreign ministers are coordinating on how to (partially) lift sanctions on Syria at their next meeting in Brussels on the 27th. While it's a move that is likely to be widely welcomed, there's a big question mark around what the US will do, @delaneysimon.bsky.social tells me

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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Rachel Ziemba @reziemba.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

Good work on web of syria sanctions in work by @delaneysimon.bsky.social and @crisisgroup.org colleagues foreignaffairs.com/afghanistan/do… And @alexzerden.bsky.social Scott anderson @lawfare.bsky.social lawfaremedia.org/article/our-ma��

foreignaffairs.com

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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Andrew Friedman @andrewbfriedman.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

@delaneysimon.bsky.social, @graemesmith.bsky.social & @jeromed.bsky.social on learning from #Afghanistan in #Syria is great. The need to give HTS "adequate clarity about how to gain diplomatic recognition and shake off sanctions" is universal for transitions. www.foreignaffairs.com/afghanistan/...

foreignaffairs.com

Don’t Repeat in Syria the Mistakes of Afghanistan

Isolating Damascus's new rulers won't moderate them.

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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Rachel Ziemba @reziemba.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Importat timely piece on syria sanctions policy from @delaneysimon.bsky.social and @crisisgroup.org colleagues @foreignaffairs.com They highlight importance of both quick humanitarian relief channels AND need for clear signals on what would be needed for broad sanctions relief. t.co/D9z5KOSsd7

t.co

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/afghanistan/dont-repeat-syria-mistakes-afghanistan

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Reposted by Delaney Simon

Aron Lund @aronlund.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Good free-to-read @foreignaffairs.com piece piece on how the USA and Europe appear set to wreck Syria’s transition by simply defaulting to economic warfare for lack of clear ideas. @delaneysimon.bsky.social @jeromed.bsky.social @graemesmithauthor.bsky.social www.foreignaffairs.com/afghanistan/...

foreignaffairs.com

Don’t Repeat in Syria the Mistakes of Afghanistan

Isolating Damascus's new rulers won't moderate them.

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Western officials are excited about the prospect of a new Syria, and rightly so. But without actions that allow Syria to rebuild its economy after years of war, the country will descend further into crisis. Syrians deserve better. The West should act differently this time. 12/end

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

➡️Within weeks, governments should also coordinate to offer clear, realistic, and time-bound demands for Syria’s new leaders in exchange for relief from both the terrorism sanctions that affect them directly as well as other economic restrictions imposed on the Assad regime. 11/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

➡️ Also right away, sanctioning countries should unconditionally relieve pressure on key sectors of Syria's economy (i.e. energy and banking), as recovery cannot begin while key sectors are blocked. 10/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

➡️Right away, the U.S., EU, UK and other actors should issue broad exemptions to allow economic and commercial activity, similar to the General License 20 that the U.S. Treasury issued in 2022 for Afghanistan. 9/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Syria now stands at a crossroads: one path offers a chance to rebuild and reengage with the world, and the other leads toward deeper isolation and suffering for the Syrian people. International actors should learn from their failures in Afghanistan and move decisively. 8/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Yet, the world may make the same mistakes in Syria that it did in Afghanistan. Countries have yet to act swiftly to soften the harsh effects of sanctions or to establish a clear path toward the removal of these sanctions in exchange for actions from Syria’s new leaders. 7/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

But without urgent action, Syria could sink into deeper crisis, a tragic fate that neither the West nor Syrians want. Syria is crippled by one of the most intensive sanctions regimes in the world. Without reform, the country is blocked from any real economic recovery. 6/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

International officials have engaged more deeply with HTS in the past month than they did with the Taliban after the fall of Kabul, and HTS's words and actions have given foreigners more confidence that outreach is the right strategy. 5/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

After the Taliban seized Kabul, Afghanistan staggered under the weight of sanctions and other kinds of economic and diplomatic isolation. Countries failed to act quickly to ease Afghanistan's poverty crisis and declined to negotiate with the Taliban in any serious way. 4/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

But Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that dislodged Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in early December, and outside governments alike can learn from a cautionary precedent: the Taliban’s 2021 return to power in Afghanistan. 3/

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Delaney Simon @delaneysimon.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Syria’s new leaders have few models to follow in their quest to win international recognition. There are no guidebooks for listed terrorists on how to run a government or a clear set of rules for foreign governments on how to bring a former al Qaeda affiliate in from the cold. 2/

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