The US State Department has lifted the foreign terrorist designation of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which played a key role in the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria.
This is stated in a memo from the US State Department, excerpts from which are quoted by The Bloomberg.
Why the US Stopped Considering HTS Terrorists
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the lifting of the terrorist group's designation would take effect on July 8 following the announced dissolution of HTS and the Syrian government's commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms.
Now watching
In addition, in his statement, Rubio noted the positive actions of the new government under the leadership of the transitional president and de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The publication noted that this decision was made a week after US President Donald Trump ordered the lifting of sanctions against Syria.
Trump signed an executive order on June 30 lifting the unilateral sanctions regime against Damascus. But the decision did not apply to former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and people associated with him.
Trump met with the al-Sharaa group in Saudi Arabia in May after announcing the lifting of US sanctions.
A week later, the United States issued a 180-day waiver of sanctions imposed by the American Congress, lifting penalties for individuals doing business with the Syrian government.
