Ammon News - When President Donald Trump announced in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that he would lift all sanctions on Syria, the decision, which will boost a country devastated by 13 years of war, took many in the region by surprise.

It also caught some in his own administration off guard.

In Washington, senior officials at the State Department and Treasury Department scrambled to understand how to cancel the sanctions, many of which have been in place for decades, according to four U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The White House had issued no memorandum or directive to State or Treasury sanctions officials to prepare for the unwinding and didn’t alert them that the president’s announcement was imminent, one senior U.S. official told Reuters.

The sudden removal of the sanctions appeared to be a classic Trump move - a sudden decision, a dramatic announcement and a shock not just for allies but also some of the very officials who implement the policy change.

After the announcement, officials were confused about exactly how the administration would unwind the layers of sanctions, which ones were being eased and when the White House wanted to begin the process.

By the time Trump met interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, officials at State and Treasury were still unsure how to proceed, the senior official said.

“Everyone is trying to figure out how to implement it,” said one U.S. official in reference to the president’s announcement.

Following the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad late last year, officials from both State and Treasury had drafted memos and options papers to help guide the government on lifting Syria sanctions if and when the administration chose to do so.

Before Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia, there was no clear indication – at least to the officials inside State and Treasury working on sanctions – that the president had made a decision, the senior U.S. official said.

The State Department and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A White House official told Reuters that Turkey and Saudi Arabia had asked Trump to lift the sanctions and to meet with Sharaa. In his announcement, Trump said that he did so to give Syria a chance at a better future. Reuters