The move follows the lifting of sanctions on Damascus after the fall of the al-Assad government last year.<\/p>\n
The United States<\/a> will revoke its designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) as Washington softens its approach to post-war Syria following the fall<\/a> of Bashar al-Assad\u2019s government last year.<\/p>\n The decision, which takes effect on Tuesday, comes as part of US President Donald Trump\u2019s broader strategy to re-engage with Syria and support its reconstruction after more than a decade of devastating conflict.<\/p>\n \u201cThis FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump\u2019s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria,\u201d US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Monday.<\/p>\n HTS had been designated as a \u201cterrorist\u201d group by the US since 2018 due to its former ties to al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n The group emerged out of the al-Nusra Front, once al-Qaeda\u2019s official branch in Syria, but formally severed those ties in 2016 after HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa declared the group\u2019s independence.<\/p>\n Al-Sharaa, who led the opposition forces that removed al-Assad in a lightning offensive last December, has since become Syria\u2019s president.<\/p>\n He has launched what many experts have described as a charm offensive aimed at Western powers, including meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and, most recently, Trump in Riyadh in May.<\/p>\n The Trump administration and the European Union have since lifted sanctions on Syria<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn line with President Trump\u2019s May 13 promise to deliver sanctions relief to Syria, I am announcing my intent to revoke the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation of al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay\u2019at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), under the Immigration and Nationality Act,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n \u201cTomorrow\u2019s action follows the announced dissolution of HTS and the Syrian government\u2019s commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms.\u201d<\/p>\n