U.S. Rescinds Syria’s State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation

The U.S. State Department formally rescinded Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism after the required 45-day congressional notice period. It also revoked the Specially Designated Global Terrorist designation for al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, while Treasury removed HTS from the sanctions list and revoked Syria General License 25. Washington said Damascus had taken steps against ISIS, al-Qaida, Hezbollah and Iran-aligned groups, but Treasury separately sanctioned two former HTS affiliates accused of continuing support for al-Qaida and Hurras al-Din. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani called the decision historic.