US President Joe Biden has extended the state of emergency in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, pointing out that the turbulent internal conditions in these countries continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to US national security.
Biden sent a letter to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with respect to the actions of the Syrian government is to continue in effect beyond May 11.
“The regime’s brutality and repression of the Syrian people, who have called for freedom and a representative government, not only endangers the Syrian people themselves, but also generates instability throughout the region,” the letter read.
It stressed that the regime’s actions and policies, including with respect to chemical weapons and supporting terrorist organizations, continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the US national security, foreign policy and economy.
The United Stated condemned the brutal violence and human rights violations and abuses of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its Russian and Iranian enablers.
It called on the regime, and its backers, to stop its violent war against its own people, enact a nationwide ceasefire, facilitate the unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to all Syrians in need and negotiate a political settlement in Syria, in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254.
Biden said the US will consider changes in policies and actions of the Syrian government in determining whether to continue or terminate this national emergency in the future.
On May 11, 2004, the US declared a national emergency with respect to the actions of the Syrian government. It imposed sanctions against the Assad regime and accused it of supporting terrorist organizations in Lebanon and Iraq.
Biden also decided to extend the state of emergency in Iraq, stating that it is to continue in effect beyond May 22.
“Obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” he said in a letter to the Federal Register.
He also called for extending the state of emergency in Yemen, noting that it is to continue in effect beyond May 16.
Biden said the actions and policies of certain former members of the Yemeni government and others in threatening the country’s peace, security, and stability continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
