U.S. Removes Syria From State Sponsor of Terrorism List, Delists HTS

WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday formally removed Syria from its State Sponsor of Terrorism list and delisted Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, from the Treasury Department’s sanctions blacklist, completing a major rollback of long-standing Syria sanctions while preserving targeted terrorism penalties on specific individuals.

The move, announced Aug. 24 by the Treasury and State departments in Washington in a release titled “Treasury and State Departments Deliver Additional Sanctions Relief on Syria,” strips away two of the most consequential terrorism-related labels in U.S. sanctions policy. In practical terms, removing Syria from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list and taking HTS off the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List reduces major legal and compliance barriers that can chill trade, investment and other commercial activity, though it does not eliminate all sanctions risk. Targeted sanctions still remain, and banks and other companies may continue to act cautiously.

“Treasury is following through on President Trump’s promise to give the Syrian people a chance at greatness,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the press release. “Today’s action will help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability.”

At the same time, Treasury said its Office of Foreign Assets Control, the agency that administers U.S. sanctions, designated two former HTS affiliates: Sa’d Bin Sa’d Muhammad Shariyan al-Ka’bi and Jamal Husayn Zayniyah. Treasury alleged the two continue to support al-Qa’ida and Hurras al-Din. Those designations were made under Executive Order 13224 and the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, underscoring that the administration is pairing broader Syria relief with new restrictions on individuals it says still back extremist groups.

The step marks a sharp policy turn. Syria had been on the State Sponsor of Terrorism list since 1979, a designation that carried restrictions tied to foreign assistance, arms transfers and some exports. Treasury said Monday’s HTS delisting builds on the State Department’s July 8, 2025, revocation of the group’s Foreign Terrorist Organization designation. The broader shift began on June 30, 2025, when President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14312, “Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions,” which took effect the next day, revoked earlier Syria sanctions executive orders and directed reviews of Syria’s State Sponsor of Terrorism status and HTS designations.

The administration had already set the final step in motion this summer. On July 8, 2026, it informed Congress of its intent to rescind Syria’s State Sponsor of Terrorism designation, triggering the required 45-day review and notification period before the change could take effect. Monday’s announcement completes that process.

Taken together, the actions extend a broader U.S. shift away from countrywide Syria sanctions and toward a narrower, actor-based approach. The administration has now dismantled much of the older Syria sanctions framework while keeping the ability to target people and entities it says are linked to terrorism. For businesses and humanitarian groups, that means a significantly easier operating environment than under the old regime, but not a sanctions-free one.