US revokes 'terrorist' designation for Syria's HTS

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States has revoked the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that toppled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December. A memo signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and published on Monday confirmed the decision.

The memo relayed by AFP is dated June 23 and was published in a preview of the Federal Register on Monday, ahead of official publication Tuesday. In it Rubio states, “In consultation with the Attorney General and Secretary of the Treasury, I hereby revoke the designation of al-Nusra Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (and other aliases) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

Rubio's decision, made "pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act," allows the Secretary of State to revoke an FTO designation at any time. The Act also mandates such revocation after a review if circumstances change or if it serves US national security interests.

“This determination shall be published in the Federal Register,” Rubio added, noting the “revocation goes into effect upon publication” on Tuesday.

In response to a query about the revocation by Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda on Monday, a State Department spokesperson remarked, “We do not comment on deliberations, or potential deliberations, related to terrorist designations.”

Following a swift offensive, a coalition of opposition forces, led by the now-dissolved HTS - then-headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa who went by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani - in early December 8, toppled the Assad regime.

Sharaa was appointed Syria’s interim president in late January and has since sought to normalize ties with the international community, which had been severed under Assad.

Nusra Front, also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, was formed in 2012 as al-Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria and led by Sharaa, then known as Jolani. In July 2016, Nusra Front rebranded itself as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS) and announced a break with al-Qaeda, though many speculated covert ties continued. In January 2017, JFS merged with other armed groups to form HTS.

The US State Department designated Nusra Front as an FTO in December 2012, citing links to al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and accusing it of terrorist activities in Syria. The US described the group as "an attempt by AQI to hijack the struggles of the Syrian people for its own malign purposes" and emphasized its "violent, sectarian vision” contradicted “the aspirations of the Syrian people, including the overwhelming majority of the Syrian opposition.”

As Nusra Front evolved through JFS and HTS, the FTO designation was amended to include the new aliases.

Of note, ahead of the revocation of the designation of Nusra Front and HTS, the US had in mid-December removed a $10 million bounty on Sharaa.

US Secretary of State Rubio’s revocation of Nusrah Front and HTS’s designation as an FTO notably came a week after US President Donald Trump terminated Washington’s comprehensive sanctions program on Syria.

Answering a Rudaw question at a late June press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move is intended “to promote and support the country’s path to stability and peace,” confirming President Trump would terminate “the United States sanctions program on Syria.”

President Trump first announced the move in mid-May as part of a broader initiative to normalize relations with the new Syrian leadership and “to give them a chance at greatness,” as he said during a speech in Riyadh. During the same visit to the Saudi capital, Trump met Sharaa alongside the Kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan participating remotely.

Following the fall of Assad in December, the US has taken several incremental steps to ease sanctions on Syria.

In January, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 24, authorizing specific transactions for humanitarian aid and essential services. This was followed in late May by General License 25, which broadly authorized transactions across all sectors of Syria’s economy, including investment, financial services, petroleum trade, and re-engagement with the Commercial Bank of Syria.

Around the same time, the State Department issued a 180-day waiver under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act in late May, removing a major legal obstacle to reconstruction and economic engagement. Nonetheless, targeted sanctions on individuals linked to the Assad regime, terrorism, and human rights abuses remain in effect.