The United States on Monday removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, ending a designation in place for nearly five decades as the Trump administration moves to improve relations with the country’s post-Assad government.
The State Department announced the designation had been rescinded following a 45-day congressional notification period, completing a process sparked by an executive order President Donald Trump signed last year. Syria had been on the list since 1979, a designation that imposed restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance, defense exports, and certain financial transactions.
In a press release, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a press release that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, which is the opposition group that helped overthrow longtime dictator Bashar Assad in 2024, will also be removed from the list of specially designated global terrorists.
“In the past year, the Government of Syria has taken significant steps to counter terrorism, to include formally joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in November and conducting operations to disrupt the terror networks of ISIS, al-Qa’ida, Hizballah, and Iran-aligned groups,” Rubio said. “Rescinding Syria’s designation as an SST and HTS’ designation as an SDGT eliminates the final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promotes Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy.”
The Treasury Department also removed Hay’at Tahrir al Sham from the specially designated nationals and blocked persons list, loosening economic restrictions on the group.
With Syria’s removal, Cuba, Iran, and North Korea are the remaining countries designated as sponsors of terrorism by the U.S.
The removal comes after Trump teased the designation’s removal during a bilateral press conference with Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa at the annual NATO summit in early July. Trump has also praised al Sharaa as having done a “really fantastic job” leading the country.
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A group of bipartisan lawmakers had also urged Syria’s removal from the list, pointing to the ouster of Assad and a new Syrian government that has demonstrated efforts to stop terrorism.
With its removal from the state sponsors of terrorism list on Monday, Washington and Damascus can move toward fostering private sector investment and work on the U.S.’s evolving strategic foothold in the Middle East.