July 7, 2026 | National Review
Trump Shouldn’t Delist Syria Without Conditions
The inclusion of Syria on the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list is important leverage the U.S. should not give up easily.
July 7, 2026 | National Review
Trump Shouldn’t Delist Syria Without Conditions
The inclusion of Syria on the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list is important leverage the U.S. should not give up easily.
Excerpt
This Wednesday, on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa will sit down with President Donald Trump for the third time. Less than a year ago, Sharaa became the first Syrian leader to visit Washington. Since then, world leaders have received the former al-Qaeda commander with open arms, demonstrating their belief — or at least their hope — that he has turned away from his extremist past and is seeking to reset Syria’s role on the world stage.
When Trump met Sharaa in Riyadh in May 2025, the U.S. president said he wanted to give Syrians “a chance at greatness,” and so announced the lifting of sanctions that had long constrained the country’s recovery. Washington subsequently removed Caesar Act sanctions targeting the former Assad regime and its enablers and rescinded Sharaa’s designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Now, Sharaa is seeking to build on that momentum. During a May phone call with Trump, he pressed for additional relief, most notably Syria’s removal from the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) list.
Ahmad Sharawi is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.