US military vehicles move ahead of buses transporting Islamic State prisoners from Syria to Iraq, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces in Qamishli, Syria. file | Photo credit: Reuters
The Trump administration has informed Congress that it intends to continue planning for the potential reopening of the US embassy in Damascus, Syria, which was closed in 2012 during the country’s civil war.
Notice to congressional committees earlier this month, it received Associated Pressinformed lawmakers of the State Department’s “intention to implement a phased approach to resuming diplomatic operations in Syria.” According to the February 10 notification, spending on the plans would begin in 15 days or next week, but no timeline was provided for when they would be completed or when US personnel would return to Damascus on a full-time basis.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria Tom Barak have been considering reopening the embassy since last year, shortly after the ouster of longtime strongman Bashar Assad.
Mr. Barak pushed for deeper rapprochement with Syria and its new leadership under former rebel Ahmed al-Shar’a, and successfully argued for the lifting of US sanctions and Syria’s reintegration into the regional and international communities. Last May, Barack visited Damascus and raised the US flag at the embassy compound, although the embassy had not yet opened.
On the same day that Congress sent the notification, Mr. Barak praised Syria’s decision to join the coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group, despite the withdrawal of US troops from a small, but important, base in the southeast and significant problems between the government and the Kurdish minority.
“Regional solutions, shared responsibility. Syria’s participation in the D-ISIS coalition meeting in Riyadh marks a new chapter in collective security,” Mr Barak said.
Plans to reopen the embassy are classified, and the State Department declined to comment on details beyond confirming that congressional notification had been sent.
However, the department has taken a similar “phased” approach in its plans to reopen the US embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, after the US military operation that ousted former President Nicolás Maduro in January, hiring temporary staff.
Published – February 21, 2026 07:24 am IST
