The United States has removed Syria from its list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism”, a decision Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa hailed as “historic” and said would help the country’s recovery after 14 years of civil war, Al Jazeera reports.
The removal on Monday took effect after a 45-day congressional review period, triggered when US President Donald Trump formally notified Congress on July 8 of his intention to rescind the decades-old designation.
Al-Sharaa welcomed the decision in a statement on X.
He thanked Trump and said Syria was tearing a “page from its painful past, in order to launch itself into the realm of development, reconstruction, and building”.
The designation carries restrictions on US foreign assistance, defence exports and sales, certain dual-use items (which can have civilian and military applications) and financial transactions. It had remained a major deterrent for banks and investors even after Washington dismantled its broader sanctions programme on Syria.
