US to remove Syria from terror blacklist, in new boost to Sharaa
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President Donald Trump (right) meeting President Ahmad al-Sharaa of Syria at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8.
PHOTO: DOUG MILLS/NYTIMES
- The US will remove Syria from its state sponsor of terrorism list, easing sanctions and encouraging investment, effective in 45 days unless Congress blocks it.
- President Trump met with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, praising his efforts to unify Syria after the Assad family's fall in 2024.
- The move aims to stabilise Syria and benefit the region, despite concerns from Israel and no peace progress with Israel yet.
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WASHINGTON – The United States said on July 8 it will delist Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, a decades-old designation that severely impeded investment, in a new vote of confidence in leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio formally informed Congress of the long-expected move, which will be effective in 45 days unless lawmakers take the unlikely step of blocking it.
The step came as President Donald Trump met on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Turkey with al-Sharaa, a former militant who has sought to recast himself as a unifying figure after the 2024 toppling of the Assad family, which ruled with an iron fist for a half century.
“This is yet another historic step by President Trump to give the Syrian people a chance at greatness,” Rubio said in a statement.
“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people,” he said.
Trump’s embrace of al-Sharaa comes despite misgivings from Israel, which has repeatedly launched air strikes in Syria, one of its historic adversaries.
Trump had earlier publicly pressed for Syria to make peace with Israel but went ahead with the delisting decision despite a lack of tangible progress.
Rubio said in his statement that “a stable, unified Syria at peace with itself and its neighbours benefits not only the region, but the entire world”.
Syria is seeking economic support to rebuild after years of brutal war that helped give rise to the ISIS extremist group and generated a major refugee crisis.
Meeting in Ankara with al-Sharaa, who has traded his guerrilla fatigues for a suit, Trump said: “He’s doing an unbelievable job in unifying Syria. What a job he’s doing.”
“Syria was a mess with what happened with the previous government,” Trump added.
Trump’s initial lifting of sanctions had a muted impact as Syria was still considered a state sponsor of terrorism, meaning that businesses face legal risks inside the United States if they operate in the country.
Rubio said that the delisting decision came after “formal assurances” by al-Sharaa that “Syria will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.”
With the removal, only three countries remain on the terror blacklist – Iran, North Korea and Cuba.
Cuba was controversially designated by the Trump administration at the end of its first term as it exerted pressure on the communist-led island.
The United States has listed Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1979.
Under ousted president Bashar al-Assad and his late father Hafez, Syria was a haven for Palestinian militant groups and Damascus was alleged to have had direct involvement in incidents such as a 1986 attempted bombing of a flight of Israeli carrier El Al.
In recent years, Syria’s US terrorism designation has been primarily related to Assad’s relationship with Iran and support for Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militant movement.
Trump in June suggested that Syria under the Sunni al-Sharaa could take over from Israel in a military campaign to degrade Hezbollah.
But al-Sharaa denied any intention to intervene militarily in Lebanon, which Syria had occupied for decades under the Assads. AFP
