Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa congratulated the Syrian people after Syria was officially removed from the United States’ list of states sponsoring terrorism, thanking US President Donald Trump and everyone who stood by his country and contributed to achieving this step.
Al-Sharaa said, in a speech addressed to the Syrians, that “Syria today is shaking off a black joke and tearing with its own hands a page from its painful past, to move into the space of development, reconstruction and construction,” adding: “The great people of Syria, you have done it again, and the sanctions have been lifted and the restrictions have been lifted, and I ask God to help us serve you.”
Al-Sharaa thanked US President Donald Trump, and the countries that stood by Syria and supported the process of lifting restrictions and classifications on it.
For his part, the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Asaad Al-Shaibani, described the removal of Syria from the American list as a “historic event,” considering that the step comes as “the fruit of the transformation made by the Syrians,” and embodies, in his words, the new Syrian state’s commitment to international security and peace and cooperation with the United States and the countries of the world.
Al-Shaibani said that the classification continued for 47 years, and was linked to the policies and practices of the previous regime, stressing that “it was never an option for the Syrian people and is not worthy of Syria and its history.”
He added that Damascus, under the directives of President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, will continue to work to remove the effects of isolation and create an environment based on transparency, mutual interests and respect, in a way that enhances development and stability. He also thanked Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US special envoy to Syria and Iraq, Tom Barrack, the US administration, members of Congress, and everyone who contributed to the completion of the resolution.
On Monday, August 24, the United States officially removed Syria from the list of states sponsoring terrorism, after the end of the legal review period in Congress without registering an objection, thus ending the designation period that began on December 29, 1979. Trump had notified Congress on July 8, 2026 of his intention to cancel the designation, after which a 45-day review period began.
According to US procedures, the classification imposed restrictions related to foreign aid, exports of defense materials, and some dual-use exports, in addition to restrictions on a number of financial and commercial transactions. With the entry into force of the cancellation decision, Syria is no longer subject to the restrictions directly related to this classification.
The decision came as part of an American path that began in 2025 to ease the restrictions imposed on Syria, as on June 30, 2025, Trump signed an executive order that ended the general US sanctions program on Syria, while maintaining sanctions targeting specific individuals and entities. The order also directed the review of Syria’s status on the list of states sponsoring terrorism and classifications linked to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.
The recent American announcement also included canceling the classification of the Al-Nusra Front, known in American records as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, as a globally designated entity, in parallel with removing the organization from the sanctions list of the US Treasury Department.
US envoy Tom Barrack described raising the classification as a decisive step in Syria’s transition from isolation to partnership, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the decision removes one of the most prominent obstacles facing the involvement of private sector investments in Syria.
