The US Treasury Department removed Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation imposed on the country for nearly 47 years, according to an update to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions lists related to Syria on Monday, August 24.

As a result, Syria is no longer subject to restrictions under the state sponsors of terrorism sanctions regulations, according to the US Treasury Department.

The US department also removed the now-dissolved Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist organizations, according to the OFAC update.

However, the lifting of sanctions does not affect past, current, or future OFAC investigations or enforcement actions concerning apparent violations of Syria sanctions regulations that occurred before July 2025, or violations of state sponsors of terrorism sanctions regulations that occurred before August 24.

Since the NATO Summit

US President Donald Trump had previously said he intended to remove Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism during a press meeting with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit on July 8.

Responding to journalists’ questions, Trump said, “Maybe we’ll do that. Why not? He [al-Sharaa] has done an excellent job.”

Following Trump’s statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the start of formal procedures to remove Syria from the list and notify Congress, with the decision set to take effect after a legally mandated 45-day period unless members of Congress raised objections that halted the process.

Trump Plans to Remove Syria From Terror Sponsor List

Zaki Lababidi, head of the Syria office at the Syrian American Council, previously told Enab Baladi that removing Syria from the state sponsors of terrorism list does not require a vote in Congress, whether in the House of Representatives or the Senate.

Lababidi said the US president sends a formal letter to both chambers of Congress informing them of the US administration’s intention, under President Donald Trump, to remove Syria’s designation and revoke it.

After the letter is sent, members of both chambers have 45 days to object to the decision. If no objection is submitted, the removal of the designation takes effect without a vote.

Lababidi also said Washington is handling the issue through two separate tracks. The first concerns removing Syria from the state sponsors of terrorism list, while the second involves lifting the remaining US sanctions imposed on the country.

While the first track does not require a congressional vote, lifting the remaining sanctions does, according to Lababidi.

Since 1979

The United States placed Syria on the state sponsors of terrorism list on December 29, 1979, during the rule of former President Hafez al-Assad, under the US Foreign Assistance Act, which authorizes the State Department to designate countries it determines have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.

Washington justified the designation at the time on several grounds, most notably:

Accusations that Damascus supported armed Palestinian groups that the United States considered terrorist organizations.

Political and logistical support for movements such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the 1980s, which Washington later designated as a terrorist organization.

Allegations that Syria provided a haven or assistance to some armed groups operating in the region.

For decades, Syria was accused of pursuing policies that successive US administrations considered a threat to regional stability, which led to the designation remaining in place.