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President Trump has indicated that he will pull Syria off the US state sponsor of terrorism list, clearing one of the last hurdles keeping the country locked out of the international financial system.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: The US first designated Syria a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979, the longest-running such listing of any country, originally over the Assad regime’s support for Palestinian armed groups and later its ties to Iran and Hezbollah. That changed after Ahmed al-Sharaa and his coalition of rebel fighters overthrew dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Al-Sharaa, who once headed an al-Qaeda affiliate and carried a $10 million US bounty, has since worked to reinvent himself as a leader capable of bringing the country together. This led to the US dropping sanctions imposed under the Caesar Act last December. Despite that, the US held off on removing the terrorism designation, which continued to block Syria from significant US assistance and left businesses operating in the country exposed to serious legal risk.

What’s going on now: During a meeting with al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said he intends to remove the designation, committing to the move on the spot when a reporter asked about it.

“I think I will, yea. Why wouldn’t I? He’s done a great job,” Trump said, adding, “He’s done a really fantastic job as president. He’s unified the country in a very short period of time.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed up with a statement confirming Congress was formally notified Wednesday of the administration’s intent to rescind the designation, a move that takes effect after a 45-day congressional review period. Congress could try to block it, but significant opposition isn’t expected.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people,” Rubio said. “A stable, unified Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors benefits not only the region, but the entire world.”

Rubio said the decision followed “formal assurances” from al-Sharaa that Syria won’t support international terrorism going forward. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren and Representative Joe Wilson, had lobbied Trump for the delisting earlier this month, arguing the legal grounds for the designation no longer apply, though they noted al-Sharaa’s government still has work to do on equal representation for women and minorities and on security.

This all comes as foreign money is already flowing into Syria from its Gulf neighbors and Turkey, with UAE-Syria non-oil trade jumping more than 130% last year and Saudi Arabia signing a major investment pledge covering energy, real estate, telecoms, and aviation in February.