Trump Announces Syria Removal From U.S. Terrorism Sanctions List
A presidential declaration at a NATO summit bilateral meeting would represent the first formal delisting of Syria from U.S. state-sponsor-of-terrorism designations since the country was added in...
President Donald Trump stated on July 8, 2026, that he would remove Syria from the U.S. terrorism sanctions list, making the announcement during a bilateral meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the NATO summit in Turkey, according to Bloomberg News reporting from the summit. Trump said al-Sharaa 'has done a great job' with Syria following its civil war and the transition of power that occurred in late 2024.
Syria has been designated a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the U.S. State Department continuously since 1979, according to the State Department's official list of designated countries. The designation carries statutory restrictions under the Export Administration Act, the Arms Export Control Act, and the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibit direct U.S. foreign assistance, arms sales, and certain financial transactions with designated governments. Lifting those restrictions would require formal action beyond a presidential statement, including State Department delisting procedures under 22 U.S.C. § 2371.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, came to power in Syria following the fall of the Assad government in December 2024. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) maintained a separate Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) designation against al-Sharaa personally, which had been listed publicly on the OFAC SDN database. Whether that individual designation has been or will be simultaneously removed was not specified in the Bloomberg report of Trump's remarks.
Congress holds a role in the delisting process under the law. Under 22 U.S.C. § 2371(d), the President is required to notify Congress at least 45 days before rescinding a state-sponsor-of-terrorism designation, providing justification that the country's government has not supported international terrorism for the preceding six months and has provided assurances it will not do so in the future. The Congressional notification period and any legislative response timeline were not addressed in the available reporting from the NATO summit meeting.
What remains unknown as of this report: whether formal State Department notification procedures under 22 U.S.C. § 2371 have been initiated, the status of any individual OFAC designations related to current Syrian government officials, and whether any legislative holds or resolutions have been filed in Congress in response to the announcement. The State Department's public Federal Register notices and OFAC's SDN list updates would be the public records that would confirm formal action has been taken.