Trump commands evaluation of Syrian president`s terrorist designation
(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump has significantly relaxed longstanding American sanctions on Syria and instructed a review of the terrorist designations tied to the country’s new leadership.
In an executive order signed Monday, Trump lifted broad financial sanctions while keeping targeted measures in place against former President Bashar Assad and his ousted government. Assad was deposed late last year by militant groups including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which now leads Syria under Ahmed al-Sharaa.
While HTS and al-Sharaa remain officially labeled as terrorists under US law, Trump has directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reevaluate their status, along with Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism — a label applied in 1979.
The move comes after Trump’s May meeting with al-Sharaa in Riyadh, where they discussed rebuilding Syria and the potential for normalized ties with Israel. Following the meeting, Trump appointed Thomas Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and a close ally, as special envoy to Syria.
Barrack acknowledged the controversial nature of legitimizing a leader previously tied to extremist groups but compared the shift to America’s own post-revolutionary path, invoking George Washington’s leadership after the War of Independence.
Senator Rubio admitted that the current Syrian leadership would not pass US security vetting, but stressed that supporting them was necessary to prevent wider chaos. He described Syria as a volatile battleground for jihadist factions and emphasized the need for US engagement to stabilize the country.
Rubio wrote on X that these steps are part of Washington’s efforts to back a “stable, unified Syria at peace with its neighbors.”
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