U.S. removes Syrian president from sanctions list ahead of White House visit

The U.S. Treasury Department has removed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattab from its sanctions list, a day before al-Sharaa’s historic meeting with President Trump at the White House.

“In line with President Trump’s efforts to give Syria a chance at greatness, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control removed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattab from its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,” the department said in a statement on Sunday.

In June, Trump signed an executive order lifting long-standing U.S. sanctions on Syria and ending the national emergency first declared in 2004, citing “positive actions” by the country’s new government after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.

President al-Sharaa arrived in Washington ahead of Monday’s meeting with Trump, the first visit by any Syrian leader to the United States since the country’s independence in 1946. Discussions are expected to focus on reconstruction efforts, counterterrorism cooperation, and regional security.

Al-Sharaa, a former commander of the Turkish-backed group Tahrir al-Sham, took power in December 2024 after opposition forces seized Damascus, ending Assad’s two-decade rule. Since then, his government has sought international recognition and pledged to reintegrate Syria into global institutions.

Syria is expected to formally join the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS during the visit on Monday, following joint operations against ISIS remnants in eastern Syria.

Reports earlier this week indicated that the U.S. is considering establishing a logistical and surveillance presence at a Damascus-area airbase to support humanitarian and counterterrorism operations, though Syrian officials have denied that such plans are finalized.