Syria ‘shakes off dark stain’ with removal from US terror list: President

InternationalSyria 'shakes off dark stain' with removal from US terror list: PresidentBy AFP -Aug 25, 2026Add ARY News on GoogleFILE - A handout picture released by Syria's transitional government shows the country's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa waiting for the arrival of Spain's foreign minister at the presidential palace in Damascus on Jan. 16, 2025.AAResizeDAMASCUS: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa hailed early on Tuesday the United States’ removal of his country from the state sponsors of terror list, a major sanctions relief step. “Today, Syria shakes off a dark stain and tears away a painful chapter of its past to embark on a path of development, reconstruction and rebuilding,” Sharaa said in a speech. Washington’s decision on Monday rescinded a decades-old designation that came with severe economic restrictions, marking another step in warming ties between the countries following the 2024 ouster of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. The Treasury Department announced corresponding sanctions relief. Sharaa expressed his “many thanks to the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, and to all the friendly and supportive nations that stood by us”. The US Department of State also revoked its designation of the al-Nusra Front — latterly known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — as a global terrorist organisation. Sharaa led that group, which spearheaded the blitz offensive that toppled Assad. It was formerly the branch of Al-Qaeda in Syria before breaking ties with it in 2016. Syria’s new authorities are trying to attract investment to support the country and rebuild its infrastructure, heavily damaged by more than a decade of civil war. The United States had initially announced in July its intent to delist Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, a move seen as a vote of confidence in Sharaa. Monday’s move gave Syria’s “a path to prosperity”, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The action “eliminates the final major...