US removes Syria from ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ list

The United States has removed Syria from its list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism”, a decision Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa hailed as “historic” and said would help the country’s recovery after 14 years of civil war.

The removal on Monday took effect after a 45-day congressional review period, triggered when US President Donald Trump formally notified Congress on July 8 of his intention to rescind the decades-old designation.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the action was “taken in recognition of the positive actions taken and further commitments” by al-Sharaa to “fully distance Syria from acts of international terrorism”.

Al-Sharaa welcomed the decision in a statement on X.

He thanked Trump and said Syria was tearing a “page from its painful past, in order to launch itself into the realm of development, reconstruction, and building”.

Syria had been on the list since 1979, when Washington accused the government of former President Hafez al-Assad of supporting armed groups. The designation remained throughout the rule of his son, Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled by rebels led by al-Sharaa in December 2024.

The designation carries restrictions on US foreign assistance, defence exports and sales, certain dual-use items (which can have civilian and military applications) and financial transactions. It had remained a major deterrent for banks and investors even after Washington dismantled its broader sanctions programme on Syria.

Iran, Russia influence

Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said the US move ends five decades of Syria’s isolation.

“Only Cuba, Iran, and North Korea remain on that list. This will open up an opportunity for international legitimacy – something al-Sharaa’s government has been seeking. But it also paves the way for commercial investment, not only in the form of US financial assistance, but also defence sales,” she said.

“Strategically, there’s another goal of the United States in all of this: to try to pull Syria away from the clutches of both Iran and Russia, and end the formal pariah status Syria has previously found itself in,” she added.

Monday’s announcement also revoked the designation of al-Nusrah Front – the group formerly led by al-Sharaa, also known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – as a global “terrorist” organisation. HTS was once al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria.

It represents a further vote of confidence in al-Sharaa, who has launched what many experts have described as a charm offensive aimed at Western powers, including meetings with Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Today’s action will help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, adding that it is “in line with President Trump’s promise to deliver sanctions relief to Syria”.

‘A new chapter’

Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the US action “represents an important shift that opens a new chapter in international relations with Syria”. It said the move “will contribute to supporting economic recovery efforts and creating suitable conditions for reconstruction and enhancing stability in Syria and the region”.

The governor of Syria’s central bank, Safwat Raslan, said on X that this is “a historic step that restores the country to its natural place in the global economic system”. He added that the bank is “working to build a modern and reliable financial system”.

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh, meanwhile, described Washington’s move as “a major and historic success for Syrian diplomacy”, according to the country’s official news agency SANA.

It “opens a major and long-awaited door to strengthening Syria’s integration into the global economic and financial system, attracting investment and modern technologies, and supporting development opportunities”, he said.

The US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, also hailed the move.

He called the end of the designation a “decisive step in Syria’s remarkable journey from isolation to partnership, and from a source of terrorism to a committed partner in the global fight against it”.