{"id":264252,"date":"2026-08-25T15:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T15:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/264252\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T15:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T15:32:10","slug":"us-removes-syria-from-terror-sponsor-list-complicating-israeli-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/264252\/","title":{"rendered":"US removes Syria from terror sponsor list, complicating Israeli strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US formally removed Syria<\/a> from its list of state sponsors of terrorism on Monday, after the required 45-day congressional review of President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to rescind the designation ran its course.<\/p>\n

On the surface, this sounds like a dry bureaucratic step-which may explain why it largely flew under the Israeli media\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n

But it is not.<\/p>\n

To understand its significance, one need only read the glowing message that Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey<\/a> and special envoy to Syria and Iraq, posted on X\/Twitter.<\/p>\n

Barrack – who, because of positions he has taken regarding Hezbollah in Lebanon and Turkey\u2019s role in Syria, is increasingly viewed in Jerusalem as less than objective in disputes he is supposed to mediate – praised the move as a \u201chistoric milestone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IraqiIraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Tom Barrack in Baghdad, Iraq, June 16, 2026. (credit: IRAQI PRIME MINISTER MEDIA OFFICE\/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)’Isolation to partnership,’ a fundamental change in US-Syrian relations<\/p>\n

He called it \u201canother decisive step in Syria\u2019s remarkable journey from isolation to partnership, and from a source of terrorism to a committed partner in the global fight against it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For too long, Barrack continued, the designation served as another wall separating the Syrian people from the investment, enterprise and opportunity needed to rebuild their country.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, another wall comes down,\u201d he wrote. \u201cCapital can replace conflict, enterprise can replace isolation, and commerce can continue to triumph over chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is not the language of a dry, technical adjustment. It is the language of a fundamental change in the way Washington views Syria.<\/p>\n

The decision lifts restrictions linked to foreign assistance, defense exports and financial transactions. Separate sanctions against figures connected to the Assad regime, terrorists and human-rights abusers remain in place.<\/p>\n

Hay\u2019at Tahrir al-Sham, the organization led by Ahmed al-Sharaa before he became Syria\u2019s president in 2025, was also removed from the US list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.<\/p>\n

Taken together, these steps send a clear message: Washington is no longer treating Sharaa\u2019s government as a temporary, provisional one to be kept at arm\u2019s length until it proves itself. It has decided to invest political capital in its survival, and to make it possible for others to invest financial capital in Syria\u2019s reconstruction.<\/p>\n

By formally removing Syria from a list that now includes only Iran, North Korea and Cuba, Washington is inviting Damascus back into the family of nations. It is also hanging out an \u201copen for business\u201d sign.<\/p>\n

Other countries, particularly in the Gulf, will view this as a signal to follow suit. Governments and companies that were reluctant to put money into Syria while it remained branded by Washington as a state sponsor of terrorism will now have more room-and more political cover-to do so.<\/p>\n

And therein lies the rub for Israel.<\/p>\n

Israeli military actions complicated by move<\/p>\n

It is one thing for Israel to take military action in a country that Washington<\/a> has formally labeled a state sponsor of terrorism. It is quite another to do so after the US has removed that designation, embraced the country\u2019s new leadership and begun investing political and financial capital in its stability and reconstruction.<\/p>\n

Syria\u2019s presence on the list did not confer blanket legitimacy on Israeli strikes. But the designation helped reinforce the image of Syria as an internationally isolated security threat-an arena where Israel could act with relatively little diplomatic cost when it sought to safeguard its security interests.<\/p>\n

These interests included preventing the transfer of strategic weapons from Iran to Hezbollah, preventing hostile forces from establishing themselves near the border, protecting the Druze. and – most recently – stopping Turkey from moving military assets farther south.<\/p>\n

Once Washington starts treating Damascus as a partner rather than a pariah, Israeli military action there runs the risk of looking -and being treated -differently.<\/p>\n

The change is not merely diplomatic. Removing Syria from the list eliminates one of the remaining major obstacles to American investment, international financing and reconstruction. Washington is not simply changing the language it uses to describe Syria; it is opening the door for American companies and capital to enter.<\/p>\n

As American and Gulf companies invest in massive infrastructure projects, Syria will no longer be viewed merely as a shattered country where Israel can operate without seriously affecting the interests of others.<\/p>\n

Strikes that damage Syrian infrastructure, threaten reconstruction projects or frighten off foreign investors could increasingly draw opposition from Washington and other governments with both money and political credibility invested in the country\u2019s stability.<\/p>\n

The more political and financial capital Washington pours into rebuilding Syria, the less tolerant it will likely to be of Israeli actions that could destabilize it.<\/p>\n

This does not mean that Washington will suddenly oppose every Israeli strike in Syria. The US understands Israel\u2019s concerns about advanced weaponry, jihadist groups, Turkey\u2019s growing influence and hostile forces operating close to the Golan Heights.<\/p>\n

Nor does it mean that Israel will surrender its freedom of action. No Israeli government will readily give up the ability to strike threats developing just across the border – especially not after October 7.<\/p>\n

It does mean, however, that the diplomatic cost of those strikes may rise.<\/p>\n

The move could also strengthen Syria\u2019s hand in negotiations with Israel over a security arrangement. \u00a0Damascus can argue that Washington has determined that Syria is no longer a state sponsor of terrorism and that Israel should therefore walk back some of its demands regarding Syrian military capabilities, foreign relationships and the demilitarization of areas near the border.<\/p>\n

That argument will be unlikely to persuade Jerusalem. Israel will judge Sharaa by what he does, not by the designation Washington has removed from his country. But it may resonate in an administration that has clearly decided that the best way to stabilize Syria is to strengthen Sharaa, integrate his government internationally and give it the tools to rebuild.<\/p>\n

And all that points to a widening gap between Washington and Jerusalem over Syria.<\/p>\n

The US sees the Sharaa government as one to be strengthened. Israel remains very much in a wait-and-see mode, deeply suspicious of Sharaa\u2019s<\/a> jihadist past, wary of Turkey\u2019s role and determined to retain freedom of action until it is convinced that the new Syria will not pose a threat.<\/p>\n

Washington appears ready to place its bet on Sharaa now. Israel wants more proof before doing the same. And while Israel waits for that proof, it wants the freedom to act. Monday\u2019s decision will not take that freedom away, but it could make exercising it considerably more difficult.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The US formally removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism on Monday, after the required…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[672,37,53933,469,95,11595,545,3623,256,1705],"class_list":["post-264252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-ahmed-al-sharaa","tag-israel","tag-israel-and-syria","tag-jihad","tag-syria","tag-syria-us","tag-terrorism","tag-tom-barrack","tag-usa","tag-washington"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117156875084549692","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}