Congress urges Trump administration to lift Syria’s state sponsor of terror listing

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the Trump administration to remove Syria from the State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) list.

The letter, sent by Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Elizabeth Warren, and Congressman Joe Wilson, says that maintaining the SST designation had become a major obstacle to Syria’s economic reconstruction, counterterrorism cooperation and long-term stability.

Shaheen is the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Warren is the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and Wilson is a Republican lawmaker who has fiercely advocated in support of Syria since the fall of the Assad regime.

The lawmakers said the legal basis for Syria’s designation no longer applies under the new government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, citing its continued commitment to counterterrorism operations.

“In addition to addressing ISIS threats, the Syrian government has taken serious steps to degrade Hezbollah’s networks in Syria, particularly by targeting transnational weapons and financial flows,” the letter read.

They said the “stunning reversal” by al-Sharaa’s government “changes the balance of power in the region.”

Additionally, the lawmakers said that removing Syria’s designation would advance US national security interests by encouraging responsible American and allied investment while pushing away the chances for investment from Russia, China and Iran.

The designation also discourages American financial institutions from engaging in Syria due to the legal ramifications associated with the SST listing.

But removing the listing will not stop, nor should it, Washington from pressing Damascus on certain priorities. These include the need to take credible steps to limit and eventually end Russia’s military presence in Syria, give proper rights to all communities in Syria, ensure women have full rights, remove foreign fighters from leadership positions, and designate Hezbollah as a terror group.

“Syria’s SST designation represents the most significant remaining legal impediment to Syria’s reconstruction,” the letter read.