Overview
- The administration formally notified Congress on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, starting a 45-day statutory review during which lawmakers can try to block the delisting before it takes effect.
- President Trump announced the decision after meeting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the NATO summit and praised al-Sharaa's leadership as the basis for the move.
- The State Department and Treasury point to prior steps this year and last—an executive order easing many sanctions in June 2025, U.S. and U.N. removals from related terrorist lists in November 2025, and congressional repeal of some Syria sanctions in 2025—as groundwork for rescinding the SST designation.
- The White House says removing the designation would allow U.S. and international firms to invest, let Syria access broader financial systems, and enable reconstruction funding, while critics warn the change raises unresolved counterterrorism and regional security risks, especially for Israel and concerns about Hezbollah and Iranian influence.
- Syria has been on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list since 1979 because of ties under the Assad era; the delisting would lift a long-standing legal barrier to assistance and trade and leave only Cuba, Iran, and North Korea on the U.S. blacklist.