Syria’s new authorities have denied imposing a ban on all goods produced in Russia, Iran and Israel from entering the country, amid continued lack of relations between those states and the new Syrian leadership.
According to reports by news outlets circulating online, an account in the name of the Syrian Land and Sea Ports Authority stated on Telegram that the Ministry of Finance ruled that “the entry of goods originating in Iran, Israel and Russia into Syrian territory is prohibited”, with authorities mandating their confiscation at all land and sea border crossings in the country.
Following the circulation of those reports, however, they were refuted by Mazen Al-Alloush, the public relations officer at the Land and Sea Ports Authority.
Speaking to the outlet, Enab Baladi, the same day, Alloush said that sources of that news came from pages “impersonating” the Authority, as it has no official social media accounts, with all decisions reportedly issued exclusively by the state-backed Syrian Arab News Outlet (SANA).
Despite the apparent fabrication of a Syrian ban on Russian, Iranian and Israeli goods, Syria likely receives little to no imports from those countries due to the fact that the new administration – which took power after the rebel takeover of the country and the fall of the late Assad regime in December – still has no formal ties with any of them.
While Moscow and Tehran were avid supporters of the deposed Assad regime, Tel Aviv has expanded its occupation of Syrian territory over the past month, keeping Damascus’s relations with all of them bitter and yet to be resolved.
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