US revokes foreign terrorist designation for Syria’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham

United States President Donald Trump’s administration has revoked the foreign terrorist organisation designation for Al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, according to a State Department memo filed on Monday, a major step as Washington moves to ease sanctions on Syria.

The memo dated June 23 was signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was published in a preview of the Federal Register before official publication on Tuesday.

The move comes a week after Trump signed an executive order terminating a US sanctions programme on Syria, to help end the country’s isolation from the international financial system and build on Washington’s pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war.

“In consultation with the attorney general and the secretary of the Treasury, I hereby revoke the designation of Al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (and other aliases) as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation,” Rubio wrote in the memo.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, was previously Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch. In December, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa led the HTS, which, together with other rebels, conducted a lightning offensive that ousted Syria’s former president Bashar Al-Assad.

Sharaa’s HTS severed Al-Qaeda ties years ago and says it wants to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

Syria’s foreign ministry had no immediate comment.

Sharaa and Trump met in Riyadh in May, where, in a major policy shift, Trump unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.