Washington’s Gamble: Delisting HTS and Reengaging with Post‑Assad Syria

According to Saed News, the U.S. will revoke Hayat Tahrir al‑Sham’s designation as a foreign terrorist organisation on July 8, marking a significant shift in Washington’s Syria strategy under President Donald Trump. The move accompanies the lifting of broad sanctions on Damascus following the swift ouster of Bashar al‑Assad’s regime in December, presided over by HTS leader and now President Ahmed al‑Sharaa.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the delisting as “an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria,” emphasising that HTS formally severed ties with al‑Qaeda in 2016 and dissolved itself into Syria’s official military earlier this year. Rubio’s announcement also cited Syria’s commitment to “combat terrorism in all its forms,” underscoring Washington’s expectation that the new government will uphold counter‑terrorism obligations.

Damascus promptly welcomed the decision. In a statement, the Syrian Foreign Ministry called the delisting a “positive step” toward normalisation and urged the removal of remaining barriers to cooperation. Yet, both HTS and President al‑Sharaa remain subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions, which can only be lifted by the Council itself—a reminder that multilateral constraints persist.

Analysts caution that Washington’s approach carries risks. Critics warn that delisting a group born of a brutal insurgency could erode U.S. credibility with regional partners and unsettle opposition factions who still bear scars of HTS rule. Proponents argue, however, that engagement and reconstruction assistance—estimated at tens of billions of dollars—are the only viable path to lasting stability after more than a decade of conflict.

As al‑Sharaa prepares to address the UN General Assembly in September, the unfolding U.S. experiment in Syria will face its first major test: whether delisting HTS can translate into genuine progress on reconstruction and regional reconciliation.