Syria is in dire economic straits. The brutal civil war that lasted from 2011 to 2024 ended with the fall of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The country was effectively divided into several parts, each run by different rebel groups. The civil war created 6 million refugees and over 7 million internally displaced persons. Infrastructure, including energy and agriculture, has been massively damaged. The economy, hurt by international sanctions, has shrunk by more than one half. For years the Assad regime was supported militarily and financially by its main allies Iran and Russia, leading to the buildup of much external debt to them. In fact, most of Syria’s external debt may be owed to those two countries. […]