00:00The United States has removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism,
00:06ending a 47-year designation that has long restricted Damascus' access to the global economy.
00:11Washington says the move removes what it considers the final major barriers
00:16to private investment and Syria's full economic reintegration.
00:21U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio said the decision recognizes steps by Syria's new government
00:27to distance itself from international terrorism.
00:30Syria was added to the list in 1979 when Washington accused the government
00:35of then-President Hafez al-Assad of supporting armed groups.
00:39The designation remained through the rule of his son, Bashar al-Assad,
00:43who was ousted by rebel forces led by Ahmed al-Sharah in December 2024.
00:48The Trump administration has since backed al-Sharah,
00:51who once had a U.S. bounty on his head, for leading an al-Qaeda-linked group.
00:56That group, Hayat Tahril al-Sharam, has also been removed
01:00from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations.
01:04Syria's removal leaves just three countries on the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list,
01:09Cuba, North Korea and Iran.
