The United States officially lifted Syria from its roster of state sponsors of terrorism on Monday, a significant policy shift that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said removes the last major obstacles standing in the way of foreign investment and the country’s broader economic recovery.
In a statement, Rubio said he approved the formal rescission once the required 45-day notification period for Congress had come to a close.
President Donald Trump set that process in motion in July, after informing lawmakers that Syria’s government was no longer backing acts of international terrorism.
“I have also delisted Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT),” Rubio said Monday.
The U.S. decision to remove Syria from its terrorism blacklist marks a major diplomatic win for Syria’s president and opens the door to expanded investment opportunities. (BING GUAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rubio described the move as “another historic step by President Trump to give the Syrian people a path to prosperity.”
He added that the U.S. has taken extraordinary measures over the last year to ease sanctions pressure on Syrians and support the nation’s path toward rebuilding.
Rubio specifically cited Trump’s June 2025 executive order, “Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions,” which fast-tracked relief by ending the Syria Sanctions Program and terminating the national emergency tied to Syria, while also ordering reviews of additional Syria-related sanctions and terrorism designations.
“These actions were all taken in recognition of the positive actions taken and further commitments by the Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa to fully distance Syria from acts of international terrorism,” Rubio said of the Syrian government.
Al-Sharaa ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 in an offensive led by HTS rebels. Syria had been on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list since 1979, with the designation in force throughout al-Assad’s rule.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes hands with then Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (Bing Guan/Pool Photo via AP)
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“In the past year, the Government of Syria has taken significant steps to counterterrorism, to include formally joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in November and conducting operations to disrupt the terror networks of ISIS, al-Qa’ida, Hizballah, and Iran-aligned groups,” Rubio said.
He added that rescinding Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and HTS’ designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist “eliminates the final major barriers for private-sector investment in Syria and promotes Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy.”
Syrians gather in Umayyad Square, waving the Syrian revolution flags as they continue their celebrations after the overthrow of the 61-year Baathist regime and the end of the Assad family era in Damascus, Syria on Dec. 27, 2024. (Emin Sansar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani told Reuters on Aug. 22 that lifting the designation would help restore Syria’s links to the global financial system and encourage investment following nearly 14 years of war.
“There is no longer any obstacle to investment, doing business and rebuilding economic life in Syria,” he said.
“Today’s action will help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said in a statement, adding that it is “in line with President Trump’s promise to deliver sanctions relief to Syria.”
The governor of the Central Bank of Syria said Monday that lifting Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism is a “historic step that returns it to its natural place within the global economic system.”
On Monday, Trump also posted a photo on Truth Social of al-Sharaa and al-Shibani holding his signed June 2025 executive order directing sanctions relief for Syria.
Cuba, Iran and North Korea remain the three countries designated by Washington as state sponsors of terrorism.
