World

The United States has officially removed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa from its global terrorist sanctions list, a move seen as part of Washington’s broader effort to support Syria’s reintegration after more than a decade of civil war.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday delisted al-Sharaa from the Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) list. The decision came a day after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) voted to lift largely symbolic sanctions on the Syrian leader.

Al-Sharaa, a former fighter once linked to al-Qaeda, took office in December 2024 following the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad. His removal from the sanctions list comes just days before a planned White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on November 10 — the first official visit by a Syrian president to Washington.“With the adoption of this resolution, the council is sending a strong political signal that Syria has entered a new era since Assad and his associates were toppled,” Mike Waltz, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said following Thursday’s UNSC vote.

The United States and the UN also delisted Anas Hasan Khattab, Syria’s current interior minister and another former fighter previously associated with al-Qaeda.

Trump and al-Sharaa first met in May 2025 during a summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Trump announced the easing of several sanctions imposed during the Assad era — restrictions that analysts said had hampered Syria’s economic recovery.

The latest policy shift is being viewed as a step toward rebuilding diplomatic and economic ties between Syria and the international community.

Source:
Al Jazeera – “US removes Syrian president from global ‘terrorist’ sanctions list”, published November 7, 2025.