Key event

The Caesar Act is repealed

December 2025

What happened

The FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act repeals the Caesar Act, removing the strongest statutory sanctions on Syria. The repeal requires periodic presidential certifications — counter-ISIS action, removal of foreign fighters, minority rights, no unilateral military action against neighbours — for four years.

The formal end of the sanctions era and the codification of conditionality: Syria's economic reopening is now legally tied to the transition's conduct, reviewable every six months.

Confidence: High

WhenDecember 2025
KindSanctions · Economic
ArenaRefugees, sanctions and reconstruction

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Connected records

1 record that this event names, or that name it — every one an explicit reference in a published record, nothing inferred from subject matter.

Sets off1

Impact chains that name this event as their trigger.

Where this fits

This is one entry in the Syria timeline. The full Key Events surface carries every dated turning point with its filters and its essential subset, and this event in place shows what came before and after it. How Vigil grades, dates and sources its claims is set out in the methodology.