US calls for removal of Syrian president, interior minister from UN sanctions list

The US on Tuesday presented a proposal to member states of the UN Security Council to remove the names of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab from the list of internationally sanctioned individuals, Al-Jazeera reported.

The proposal was originally drafted last August.

The US proposal also includes a stipulation about exempting the Syrian government from a previously imposed arms embargo and restrictions on technical and financial support, provided that this is done in cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), or is activities related to demining, infrastructure rehabilitation, and the return of displaced persons, Al-Jazeera reported.

The sanctions on Sharaa and Khattab were originally imposed due to their membership in HTS, a hardline Islamist group which was previously considered a terrorist organisation by the US and European countries.

Most of the sanctions on Syria were imposed when the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad was in power. Assad was removed from power in December 2024 after a rebel offensive led by HTS.

Since then Sharaa has dissolved HTS and tried to present a more moderate image to the Syrian public and the world. Last month, he became the first Syrian leader to address the United Nations since 1967.

US President Donald Trump announced the lifting of some sanctions on Syria on a visit to Riyadh last May, where he met with Sharaa. This was the first meeting between a Syrian and US president in over 25 years.

Sanctions under the Caesar Act remain in force but the US Senate voted to repeal them last week, in a move hailed by the Syrian government as a “historic moment”.

The Syrian government sees the repeal of US sanctions as essential because they prevent other countries from doing business with Syria, which urgently needs reconstruction after 14 years of brutal war.