Vice President JD Vance speaks at the 128th Air Refueling Wing Hangar.AFP
In a statement, Rubio said that President Donald Trump has told Congress that the U.S. will soon remove Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of a year-long normalisation process with the country’s new government.
“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 neighbours benefits not only the region, but the entire world.”
In June 2025, Trump signed an executive order ending several economic sanctions before revoking the terrorism designation a few weeks later for President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who took over after the ouster of former leader Bashar Assad in December 2024.
But what remains intact is a major set of sanctions passed by Congress targeting anyone doing business with or offering support to Syria’s military, intelligence or other suspect institutions. While the Trump administration has passed temporary waivers on those sanctions, known as the Caesar Act, they can only be permanently repealed by law.
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