The US House Armed Services Committee passes the Syria Hope Act.

The US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee passed the Syria Hope Act, a Syria-specific supplement to the Defense Department’s 2025 budget, paving the way for its passage in a subsequent full House vote.

Three US-Syrian organizations announced the presentation of a set of annexes on Syria within the draft annual national defense budget in the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, with the aim of discussing it publicly.

These annexes, referred to by the three organizations, include the following items:

• Protecting the US Tanf base east of Homs from possible attacks.
• Develop and present a strategy to counter support and cooperation between the Syrian army and Iranian-backed forces in Syria.
• Prepare and present a strategy on Russian support for Syria.
• Appoint a US special envoy to counter Iran-backed forces.
• Preventing recognition or normalization with Damascus.

Amend the Caesar Act to include senior Syrian government political officials, members of the People’s Assembly, leading Baath Party foreign policy figures, members of the party’s leadership committees, central committee, and investigative committee, or leading members of party branches, extending the validity of the law until 2034.