US revokes foreign terrorist designation for Syria’s HTS

WASHINGTON (Reuters): President Donald Trump’s administration has revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, according to a State Department memo filed on Monday, a major step as Washington moves to ease sanctions on Syria.

The June 23 dated memo was signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was published in a preview of the Federal Register before official publication on Tuesday.

The move comes a week after Trump signed an executive order terminating a US sanctions program on Syria, to help end the country’s isolation from the international financial system and building on Washington’s pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war.

“In consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, I hereby revoke the designation of Al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (and other aliases) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” Rubio wrote in the memo.

Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, was previously Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch, or Nusra Front. In December, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa led the HTS which together with other Islamist rebels conducted a lightning offensive that ousted Syria’s former president Bashar Assad.

Sharaa’s HTS severed Al-Qaeda ties years ago and says it wants to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

Syria’s foreign ministry had no immediate comment.

Sharaa and Trump met in Riyadh in May where, in a major policy shift, Trump unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.