Syria Sanctions Lifted: Can You Finally Monetize on YouTube?

What actually changed, and what didn't

I get the excitement. For years the answer was always the same: Syria is out of the game. Then the sanctions news broke, and every group chat filled up with one question: can we get paid now?

Here's what changed. In 2025 the United States announced it was lifting a large share of its sanctions on Syria, and you can follow the official details on the US Treasury's Syria sanctions program page. That removes a major legal barrier for American companies, and Google is one of them.

Here's what didn't change automatically. Removing a legal barrier doesn't mean the service switches on the next morning. The company still has to add the country to its systems. It also has to connect payment methods that actually work inside the country. Those are technical and administrative steps, and they take as long as they take. So I'm not going to tell you "yes, monetization is open" or "no, it's still closed." The answer is moving, and any article that gives you a fixed date could be out of date a month from now.

How to check for yourself in ten minutes

Don't rely on a Telegram post or a video with a clickbait title. These three steps get you the answer straight from the source:

1. Open the official country list. The list of countries where the YouTube Partner Program is available is the reference. Search it for Syria. If it's there, the door is officially open.
2. Open YouTube Studio. Go to the Earn section of your channel. If the program is available in your country, you'll see the requirements and how close you are to meeting them.
3. Check AdSense. Your earnings are paid out through an AdSense account. Payment methods vary by country, and you'll see yours inside the account itself. If the program is available but there's no payment method that works for you, the money never reaches your hands.

Run this check every few weeks. It's worth a few minutes.

Watch out for "monetize through another country" offers

I have to be blunt here. You'll run into people selling "monetized channels" or offering to register your account under someone's name in another country. It sounds like a clever workaround. In reality it's the fastest way to lose everything.

AdSense asks for real information about you and where you live. Registering a country you don't live in breaks its terms. The usual outcome is a closed account and withheld earnings, sometimes after months of hard work. And buying a ready-made channel puts you at the mercy of a stranger who can take it back whenever they like.

The rule is simple: any path that requires you to lie to the platform isn't a path. Wait for the official door, and build your channel in the meantime.

The requirements are the same for everyone, and your country doesn't change them

Even once the program opens in Syria, nobody gets monetized just for being Syrian. The same requirements apply to everyone. According to the YouTube Partner Program page, you need 1,000 subscribers, plus either 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days.

That tells you something important: reaching those numbers takes time no matter where you live. Someone who starts today will be far closer than someone who waits for an official announcement and then starts from zero.

There's a second point a lot of people skip. YouTube reviews your channel before accepting it, and its monetization policies reject repetitive, mass-produced content. The problem isn't using AI. The problem is dozens of near-identical videos with no real value. A channel with a clear idea and a distinct voice gets through. A channel that keeps copying itself doesn't.

Am I too late? And what if I quit after two weeks?

Two questions nobody types out, but everybody is thinking.

First: has everyone already beaten me to it? No. Short-form Arabic content still has room for new channels in a lot of niches, especially stories, history, and motivation. And if you start as the door opens in Syria, you're starting alongside everyone else, not behind them.

Second: what if I get bored? That's the real risk, not the sanctions. Most channels don't die because the idea was bad. They die because the owner posted enthusiastically for two weeks and then got busy. Filming and editing eat hours, and power cuts and patchy internet don't make it easier. So from day one, pick a publishing workflow you can keep up even in your worst weeks.

Start the channel before the road is finished

The realistic plan right now: pick one niche, post consistently, and learn from every video. If you don't want to be on camera, faceless channels are a great fit. You can browse examples of niches that work in this format to find one that suits you.

This is where a tool like MaqtAi comes in. You type in the niche and the topic, and the tool writes the script, records an AI voiceover, generates animated scenes and on-screen captions, then assembles it all into a vertical video. A typical video takes about 6 minutes to make. The video is yours to publish and monetize on your own channels. But be realistic: the tool won't pick a good idea for you, it doesn't guarantee views, and it doesn't unlock monetization in Syria. It only removes the filming and editing barrier. The rest is on you.

Think about what waiting costs you. Every week without posting is a week you're not learning what your audience likes. It's a week the algorithm isn't collecting data on your channel. And during that same week, someone in your niche is posting every day. When the door officially opens, they'll be the one closest to the thresholds.

Today's small step: make just one video. Most new accounts get free credit when they confirm their email, no card required, and the details are on the pricing page. The free video carries a watermark, but it's enough to tell you whether this workflow suits you.

Frequently asked questions

Does lifting the sanctions mean YouTube monetization is now available in Syria? Not automatically. Lifting the sanctions removes a legal barrier, but activation requires YouTube to add Syria to its country list and for AdSense payment methods to be available. Check the official list and the Earn section in YouTube Studio.

Should I register my account under another country so I can earn now? No. AdSense asks for real information about where you live, and registering under another country can end with your account closed and your earnings withheld.

Does YouTube reject channels that use AI? Not for using AI. It rejects repetitive, mass-produced content with no value, so give your channel a clear idea and scripts that genuinely differ from each other.

Should I start my channel now or wait for the official announcement? Start now. The eligibility thresholds take time to reach, and every video you publish today gets you closer and teaches you something about your audience.

Results vary from person to person, and nothing in this article is a guarantee of any income.