The Trump administration has removed Syria’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from its list of foreign terrorist organizations.
The decision comes as Washington deepens engagement with Syria’s interim government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, former leader of HTS.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the revocation on June 23, and a formal notice appeared in the Federal Register on Monday.
In a statement issued the same day, Rubio said the move, which became effective Tuesday, “recognizes the positive actions taken by the new Syrian government” under al-Sharaa’s leadership.
Rubio called the revocation “an important step in fulfilling President Donald Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria.”
He added that the decision “follows the announced dissolution of HTS and the Syrian government’s commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms.”
HTS, also known as al-Nusra Front, was al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria before formally breaking ties in 2016. The group played a central role in Assad’s ouster and has since claimed to dissolve.
The revocation of the terrorist designation follows Trump’s June 30 executive order lifting broad U.S. sanctions on Syria.
