State Department Also Revokes Al-Nusrah Front/HTS Global Terrorist Designation Treasury Secretary Bessent Says Move Will “Foster Additional Investment” Trump Had Pledged Sanctions Relief In July Treasury Stresses Posture On Countering Terrorism Unchanged HTS Broke From Al-Qaeda In 2016
According to Dawn/AFP, the United States on Monday, August 25, 2026, formally delisted Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism; rescinding a decades-old designation that had severely impeded investment and revoked its designation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, also known as the Al-Nusrah Front, as a global terrorist organisation. The Treasury Department followed through simultaneously with sanctions relief.
“Today’s action will help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Treasury stressed the moves were “in line with President Trump’s promise to deliver sanctions relief to Syria”; first announced in July when the US signalled its intent to delist Syria but was careful to note that removal of restrictions “does not change Treasury’s posture with regards to countering global terrorism and our commitment to hold bad actors in Syria accountable.”
The HTS which formally led the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024, was originally the Al-Nusra Front, formerly Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria. It formally broke ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016 and has since sought to soften its image. The delisting is a significant vote of confidence in Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whom Trump met bilaterally on the sidelines of the NATO leaders summit in Ankara in July 2026.
Syria was on the terrorism list for decades. It took one handshake in Ankara to set the clock running on removal. Check out our previous coverage of the Middle East on The Trusted Times.
