Delaney Simon

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

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

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

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

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

The Lessons of the Biden Administration’s Efforts to Sanction Israeli Settlers Among the possible U.S. policies to reign in Israeli excesses, measures targeting illegal settlements in the West Bank might seem to be relatively

I wrote about the Biden administration's efforts to sanction Israeli settlers for @centuryintl.bsky.social.

The program had some real successes, but in other ways, it backfired.

tcf.org/content/comm...

🧵 1/5

© CBC/Radio-Canada 2025. All rights reserved.

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-...

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.

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...

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 They would also boost the credibility of UN sanctions, which risk fair criticism as outdated.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/

🚩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/

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

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/

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/

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/

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/

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/

Frozen Billions: Reforming Sanctions on the Libyan Investment Authority | Crisis Group Libya’s sovereign wealth fund has been under UN sanctions since the revolt against Muammar al-Qadhafi in 2011. These measures restrict investment that would enlarge the fund. The UN has eased them, bu...

🚨NEW @crisisgroup.org REPORT

Libya's $70 billion sovereign wealth fund has been under UN #sanctions since the revolt against Muammar al-Qadhafi in 2011. The sanctions remain in place more a decade after his death.🧵

www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-...

To Support Peace Efforts, the West Needs a Coordinated Way to Effectively Reduce Sanctions Western leaders don't know how to lift economic and financial sanctions once a war ends and elongated sanctions regimes need to be changed.

Important article on how the West, and especially the U.S., cannot figure out how to lift sanctions. But they are very good at imposing them. www.justsecurity.org/108458/sanct...

Rethinking UN Sanctions on Syria’s Interim Leaders | Crisis Group Key members of Syria’s interim government remain under UN sanctions, prolonging the country’s humanitarian crisis and hampering reconstruction. In this Q&A, Crisis Group experts explain why the UN Sec...

Key members of Syria’s interim government are under UN sanctions, prolonging the country’s humanitarian crisis. For @crisisgroup.org, @jeromed.bsky.social @mayaungar.bsky.social & I explain why the UN Security Council should consider starting the delisting process
www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-...

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

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/

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/

U.S. Aid Cuts Make Famine More Likely and Easier to Hide | Crisis Group The Trump administration has put a 90-day hold on most U.S. foreign aid, with devastating effects on the system built over decades for preventing famine. The result may be more and deadlier famines, w...

Chris Newton and I explain in our @crisisgroup.org commentary how U.S. aid cuts will make famine more likely and easier to hide.

www.crisisgroup.org/united-state...
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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.

International Crisis Group’s Delaney Simon on U.S. sanctions relief for Syria, arguing that more is needed, faster.

@delaneysimon.bsky.social
@lawfare.bsky.social
@crisisgroup.org

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/u.s....

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.

@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....

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.

"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....

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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....