U.S. further eases sanctions on Syria by lifting terrorist designation

Washington Post

5 days ago

BEIRUT — The U.S. State Department said Monday that it had taken another step in easing longtime sanctions on Syria by revoking the terrorist designation of Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham, a group headed by the country's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
HTS, which led an offensive in December that swept Bashar al-Assad's regime from power, was once affiliated with al-Qaeda but says it has become more moderate.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the designation was being lifted in recognition of 'the positive actions taken by the new Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.' The revocation is set to take effect Tuesday.
Aaron Y. Zelin, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that lifting the designation will help the Syrian government get more direct access to capital beyond humanitarian aid and World Bank loans, and could help speed the reconstruction of a country battered by civil war. The announcement would also help the government recruit talent from the Syrian diaspora that may have been reluctant to join because of the designations, he said.
'It's the policy process catching up with Trump's announcement in Riyadh,' he said, referring to President Donald Trump's declaration in May, when he said he would remove sanctions on Syria and met with Sharaa. 'This will be an ongoing process that the U.S. government and bureaucracy will be continuing to deal with for at least the next six to 10 months,' Zelin said.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Although U.S. sanctions on Syria date back to the 1970s, most were imposed during Syria's 13-year civil war as a way to isolate and weaken the Assad regime. The measures wreaked havoc on the country's economy and left many ordinary citizens impoverished.
Sanctions were also imposed on some of the rebel groups that emerged during the war, including HTS and Sharaa, then known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.
U.S. sanctions relief began to take shape in late May after the Trump administration granted exemptions for a host of sanctions on the country's leadership and financial institutions, and issued a six-month waiver of the Caesar Act. An executive order signed by Trump last week directed his administration to remove most sanctions and terrorist designations.
Sanctions relief has helped the country rejoin the global financial system, with international banking transactions resuming on June 19.
Zelin said the full removal of sanctions and export controls on Syria requires action by the State, Treasury and Commerce departments, as well as Congress. The action Monday was 'just one of many announcements that will be forthcoming in the months ahead,' he said.
The move also comes amid U.S. efforts to ease U.N. sanctions on Syria's new government. The executive order last week also directed the State Department to 'explore avenues for sanctions relief at the United Nations to support stability in Syria.' U.N. sanctions have prevented Sharaa from traveling outside of Syria without a Security Council exemption.
Monday's announcement also comes amid the backdrop of indirect negotiations between Israel and Syria; a fact sheet on last week's executive order said working with Syria can help 'secure Peace in the Middle East.' At a news conference on Monday in Beirut, U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said 'dialogue has started between Syria and Israel.'