US Removes Syria From State Sponsors of Terrorism List

The United States on Monday removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, ending a decades-old designation that had significantly restricted investment in the country.

The US Department of State also revoked the designation of Al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as a foreign terrorist organisation.

The US Treasury Department subsequently announced sanctions relief as part of the measures.

“Today’s action will help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

The Treasury Department said the measures were “in line with President (Donald) Trump’s promise to deliver sanctions relief to Syria.”

However, the department stressed that lifting the restrictions would not weaken its efforts to combat international terrorism or its commitment to hold individuals and groups it considers malign actors in Syria accountable.

“The removal of restrictions on Syria does not change Treasury’s posture with regards to countering global terrorism and our commitment to hold bad actors in Syria accountable,” the department said.

HTS was previously known as Al-Nusrah Front and served as Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria before breaking away from the jihadist group in 2016. It subsequently sought to distance itself from its former extremist identity and present itself as a more moderate political force.

The United States had announced in July that it intended to remove Syria from the state sponsors of terrorism list, a decision widely viewed as a show of support for Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The move followed a meeting between Trump and Sharaa on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Turkey.

Sharaa, a former jihadist commander, has sought to portray himself as a unifying leader following the overthrow in 2024 of Bashar al-Assad, whose family ruled Syria for about five decades.

The US decision is expected to ease some of the financial and investment restrictions that have hampered Syria’s economic recovery and efforts to attract foreign capital.