Overview
- The United States formally delisted Syria on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, after a mandatory 45-day congressional review that began when President Donald Trump notified Congress on July 8.
- The State Department also revoked the U.S. terrorist designation for Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and the Treasury posted sanctions-relief guidance that allows many banking and commercial activities to resume so long as listed individuals remain excluded.
- U.S. officials said the delisting removes the last major structural barrier to foreign investment but preserves targeted sanctions, export controls, counterterrorism enforcement, and a six-month window for terrorism-related lawsuits under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
- Private firms and banks have signalled preliminary interest in engagement, with reports of talks involving Bank of America and plans by Mastercard and regional banks to prepare payments and correspondent-banking links with Syria’s central bank.
- The move closes a long chapter of isolation that began with Syria’s 1979 SST listing and reflects a rapid U.S.–Damascus rapprochement after the 2024 ouster of Bashar al-Assad and high-level diplomacy between President Trump and Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.