US officially removes HTS from terrorist list

(MENAFN) The United States State Department has officially lifted the designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), also known as the al-Nusrah Front, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. This decision was detailed in a Federal Register notice dated June 23 and set to take effect on July 8.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the revocation, emphasizing it was made in consultation with the Attorney General and the Treasury Secretary. Rubio highlighted that this move follows the declared dissolution of HTS and Syria’s new government commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms.

The action builds on recent developments, including a June 30 executive order aimed at revoking sanctions on Syria, reflecting the positive steps taken by the country’s new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

HTS had been listed as a terrorist organization by the US since 2018, when it was added to the existing designation of its predecessor, Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliate.

The change comes after President Donald Trump’s decision to end US sanctions, and the national emergency related to Syria. Trump announced at a May investment forum in Riyadh that sanctions on Syria would be lifted, calling them “brutal and crippling.” Shortly after, he met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa—the first official US-Syrian leader meeting in 25 years.

This shift also follows the departure of longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia on December 8, 2024, ending the Baath Party’s control that had lasted since 1963.

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