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Embassy of the United States, Damascus

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Coordinates: 33°31′18″N 36°16′52″E / 33.5217°N 36.2811°E / 33.5217; 36.2811
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Embassy of the United States, Damascus
Location2 Al Mansour St., Damascus, Syria[1]
Coordinates33°31′18″N 36°16′52″E / 33.5217°N 36.2811°E / 33.5217; 36.2811
OpeningSeptember 30, 1952
ClosedFebruary 6, 2012[2]
Jurisdiction Syria
Chargé d'affairesVacant
Websitesy.usembassy.gov
Map

Embassy of the United States, Damascus is the diplomatic representative of the United States of America to the Syrian Arab Republic in the city of Damascus.

History

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Establishment

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The US and Syria established diplomatic relations in 1944 when the US recognized Syrian independence.[3] Then on September 30, 1952, the U.S. delegation in Damascus was upgraded to embassy status, officially establishing an American embassy in Damascus.[4][5] The embassy briefly became a consulate from 1958 to 1961 while Syria was a part of the United Arab Republic. The building returned to its embassy status once the US again recognized Syria following the resumption of Syrian independence.[6]

2006 bombing

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On September 12, 2006, the U.S. Embassy was attacked by four armed assailants with guns, grenades and a car bomb (which failed to detonate). Syrian Security Forces successfully countered the attack, killing three attackers and injuring one. Two other Syrians killed during the attack were a government security guard and a passerby. The Syrian government publicly stated that terrorists had carried out the attack. The U.S. government did not receive an official Syrian government assessment of the motives or organization behind the attack, but security was upgraded at U.S. facilities. The Syrian ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha, blamed the attack on Jund al-Sham,[7] but Syrian President Bashar al-Assad blamed U.S. foreign policy in the region as contributing to the incident.[8]

Syrian civil war

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In 2012, Syria–United States relations broke off due to disagreements relating to the Syrian civil war, and this embassy was officially suspended on February 6.[9] Since then, much of the functions of the embassy was replaced by the Czech embassy in Damascus [Wikidata].[2][10]

Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the US has been in contact with the new Syrian transitional government,[11] but also made clear that it had no immediate plans on reopening its embassy in Damascus.[12]

In March 2025, the embassy advised all Americans to leave Syria due to escalating violence in the country.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Websites of U.S. Embassies, Consulates, Diplomatic Missions, and Offices Providing Consular Services - S". US Department of State.
  2. ^ a b "The U.S. Embassy in Damascus suspended operations in February 2012". US Embassy in Damascus. Archived from the original on March 30, 2025.
  3. ^ "U.S. Relations With Syria". US Department of State.
  4. ^ Al-Baidhani, Ibraheem Saeed (2014). U.S. Policy Toward Syria – 1949 to 1958. p. 17,18,20,23. ISBN 9781493190942.
  5. ^ "About the Embassy". United States Department of State, U.S. Embassy Damascus. Archived from the original on 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  6. ^ "A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776: Syria". U.S. Office of the Historian.
  7. ^ "Bomb attack on US embassy in Syria foiled". The Guardian. September 12, 2006.
  8. ^ "Syria blames US policies for attack". Aljazeera English. 13 September 2006.
  9. ^ "U.S. closes embassy in Syria over security concerns". CNN. February 6, 2012. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012.
  10. ^ "Czech Republic Reopens Damascus Embassy To Help US". Barron's. January 3, 2025.
  11. ^ "U.S. has made contact with Syrian rebel group HTS, Blinken says". NPR. December 15, 2024.
  12. ^ "We do not have any immediate plans: US on reopening embassy in Syria". Business Standard. December 11, 2024.
  13. ^ "US embassy in Syria tells Americans to leave, warns of 'potential imminent attacks'". ABC News. March 29, 2025.
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