1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Safeguarding Syria Sanctions Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) On February 6, 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck northwest Syria and central-southern Türkiye. (2) On February 9, 2023, the Department of the Treasury issued Syria General License 23, temporarily authorizing direct transactions with the Assad regime related to earthquake relief efforts for 180 days. (3) Prior to the earthquake, pre-existing general licenses enabled assistance to the Syrian people by authorizing robust exemptions for humanitarian assistance carried out by the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations. Such pre-existing licenses are set to remain in effect past the expiration of General License 23. (4) Since the Department of the Treasury issued Syria General License 23, numerous reports have documented extensive efforts by the Assad regime, and its Russian and Iranian backers, to leverage the earthquake response for their gain. (5) The Iranian regime and its proxies have reportedly smuggled lethal weapons into Syria to target United States forces under the guise of earthquake relief. 3. Statement of policy It is the policy of the United States to actively oppose recognition or normalization of relations by other governments with any Government of Syria, including by fully implementing the mandatory primary and secondary sanctions under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 ( 22 U.S.C. 8791 note) and Executive Order 13894 (84 Fed. Reg. 55851