Bangladesh, May 14 -- In a stunning policy reversal with far-reaching geopolitical implications, US President Donald Trump has announced that his administration will lift all economic sanctions on Syria. Speaking at an investment forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump framed the decision as an opportunity for a “fresh start” with the new government in Damascus led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a figure whose past affiliation with extremist militancy has already stirred sharp international backlash.

The decision marks a dramatic departure from more than a decade of bipartisan US policy aimed at isolating President Bashar al-Assads regime and punishing the Syrian government for alleged human rights abuses and war crimes during the countrys...