US removes Syria from list of state sponsors of terrorism

What the report says

The United States has removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, ending a designation that had been in place since 1979, according to BBC World News. The move was announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and is being presented by the Trump administration as a step toward allowing more private investment and helping Syria rejoin the global economy.

BBC World News reports that the decision reflects Washington’s view that Syria’s new authorities have distanced themselves from international terrorism. The administration has also warmed to Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was once linked to al-Qaeda and had previously been under a US bounty. His Islamist movement, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was also removed from the US list of global terrorist organisations, after earlier US action to lift other terrorism-related designations.

The report says the change could open a path for economic reconstruction, but significant risks remain because Syria is still politically fragile and lacks broadly representative governance. It also sits amid regional tensions involving Israel and Turkey. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani called the decision a historic step, while US officials said it could encourage investment and stability. In practical terms, the state sponsor label carried sanctions, aid restrictions and limits on defence trade, so its removal is a notable shift in US policy toward Damascus.