US President Bush accused Syria of pursuing weapons of mass destruction and said that the country represented 'an extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the US'. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said that he shared Bush's concerns but that no policy change towards Syria was planned. Both the Syrian and Lebanese governments have criticised the sanctions as wrong and unfair, although Damascus says it still seeks dialogue with the US.

Syria has been accused by the US of giving approval to Palestinian and Lebanese extremist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah and allowing them to operate from safe havens in Damascus. The US also accused Syria of undermining its policy in Iraq.

The sanctions include a ban on flights between the US and Syria and the freezing of assets belonging to Syrian nationals and entities with terrorist or weapons of mass destruction links. Restrictions were also placed on banking between American banks and the Syrian national bank.

The political effects of the sanctions are more profound than the economic ones, with Bush sending a signal that, despite the problems in Iraq, he would not relent in the war on terror.

The sanctions follow the Syria Accountability Act, which Bush signed last December. The act stipulated the conditions for imposing the sanctions, although Bush declined to take more drastic action which the act provided for.