Following a decade-and-a-half of a Washington-led full economic siege of the Syrian state, and after a fierce CIA-backed proxy war (Timber Sycamore) to oust Assad over that same period, this week has witnessed the huge milestone of the United States finally removing Syria from its state sponsors of terrorism list.
The designation itself had stretched back several decades, and it placed major hurdles in the way of international investment, but with the Monday move by the State Department many of the related sanctions have now been eased.
“Today’s action will help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, signaling new US efforts to help the war-ravaged country recover.
Of course, this came only after it was ‘mission accomplished’ in terms of overthrowing the secular Ba’ath government of Bashar al-Assad. He fled the country in December 2024, as Jolani’s al-Qaeda linked militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham entered Damascus, and since then there have been widespread reports of an ‘Islamization’ of the capital and various other cities and towns. The first year of Jolani’s rule witnessed thousands of religious minorities kidnapped or slaughtered – with Alawites and Druze particularly targeted, but also many Christians.
The whole population was brought to its knees by the long-running sanctions, resulting in runaway inflation and soaring food prices, as wages remained stagnant – also as petrol became hard to come by (and as US soldiers occupied Syria’s eastern oil and gas fields which previously met domestic fuel needs).
The delisting exposes an ultra-ironic and deeply awkward reality: Al Nusra Front, which is Syrian Al Qaeda (and was founded by the self-declared president Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Jolani) is no longer deemed a terror organization. According to the NY Times:
The removal of the state sponsor of terror designation on Monday came after a U.S. congressional review process and after Syria joined the Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State, according to the State Department. The United States also revoked the terrorism designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a rebel group that was headed by Mr. al-Sharaa and that was previously known as the Al Nusra Front, the State Department said.
It also once again highlights that when Trump on multiple occasions met President Sharaa, he was literally palling around with with an officially designated terrorist (and who until recently had a $10 million FBI bounty on his head).
It wasn’t just the US which supported jihadist groups seeking the overthrow of Assad, but Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE also played a big role (and Israel too at times admitted its support).
Saudi Arabia is among those welcoming the sanctions relief news on Tuesday. Its foreign ministry congratulated the Syrian government and people, expressing hope for security, stability and prosperity.
Can’t make this up: Top Syrian envoy to the United States once kidnapped Americans for Nusra Front/HTS…
My interview with the Syrian chargé d’affaires to the US back when he was a member of Jabhat al-Nusra. pic.twitter.com/g0NSaH1WUp
— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) July 28, 2026
Syria had been on the State Sponsor of Terrorism for 47 years. So essentially the US waged a near half-century ‘long war’ for regime change against Bashar and his father Hafez al-Assad before him.
As for the lifting of sanctions, they ultimately hit the common populace the hardest – whether they be Christians, Muslims, Alawites or Druze – and so at the very least hopefully normal people can have some relief going forward.
