A State Department official told Anadolu agency that the “review is ongoing and in compliance with the applicable laws and criteria established by Congress.”
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, refused to provide a timeline.
“There are a number of steps that would need to be taken by both the Department and the President before the SST designation could be removed,” said the official.
Syria has held the designation since 1979 — a status shared only with Cuba, North Korea and Iran — and the label carries sweeping restrictions on security assistance, financial transactions and foreign investment.
Al Sharaa visited the White House in November, the first visit by a Syrian head of state since that country’s independence in 1946, and had previously met Trump in Riyadh in May 2025, shortly before Washington lifted the Caesar sanctions.
Shortly after Sharaa’s White House visit, Syria joined the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh as its 90th member, signing a “political cooperation declaration” with the coalition.
The SST designation, however, has remained in place.
