Rubio announces sweeping Syria shift that could unlock long-blocked investment

The United States on Monday formally removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move Secretary of State Marco Rubio said eliminates the final major barriers to investment and economic recovery in the country.

Rubio said in a statement that he had authorized the formal rescission after a mandatory 45-day congressional notification period ended.

President Donald Trump had initiated the countdown in July after confirming to Congress that Syria’s government had ceased supporting 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.

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Syria’s president secured a major diplomatic boost as the U.S. removed the country from its terrorism blacklist, clearing key barriers to investment. (BING GUAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The actions, he said, represent “another historic step by President Trump to give the Syrian people a path to prosperity.”

Rubio said Washington had taken unprecedented steps over the past year to provide sanctions relief to the Syrian people.

He pointed to Trump’s June 2025 executive order, “Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions,” which accelerated sanctions relief by terminating the Syria Sanctions Program and the national emergency with respect to Syria while directing reviews of other Syria-related sanctions and terrorist 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.

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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)

“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.”

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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.

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Cuba, Iran and North Korea remain the three countries designated by Washington as state sponsors of terrorism.