Trump says he'll remove Syria as state sponsor of terror for first time since 1979

It's a remarkable turnaround for al-Sharaa, who once led an al-Qaeda affiliate.

President Donald Trump, sitting next to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the NATO summit in Turkey, said Wednesday that he will remove Syria from the State Department's State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

"He's done a great job. Maybe he would have brought that up. That's a good question. Yeah, any problems with that? I think we should. Yeah, I will," Trump said of al-Sharaa when asked about removing Syria from the list.

Trump offered high praise for al-Sharaa during their meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit, a remarkable turnaround for the man who once led an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

Al-Sharaa at one point had a $10 million bounty on his head and served time in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

He then then led a coalition of Islamist rebel factions in late 2024 to topple former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"He's done a really fantastic job as president. He's unified the country in a very short period of time," Trump said Wednesday, describing the Syrian leader as a "strong person" who is "respected by everybody."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump had alerted Congress Wednesday of the administration’s intent to rescind Syria’s designation following a 45-day period -- the amount of time required for congressional review.

In his statement, Rubio referenced an executive order issued by the president last year ordering a review of Syria’s designation and remarks on the "positive changes and counterterrorism actions taken by the Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and formal assurances provided by President al-Sharaa that Syria will not support acts of international terrorism in the future,” two requirements for delisting.

Congress could attempt to block the delisting but the move is not expected to face significant opposition.

Trump's commitment to potentially remove Syria from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list would mark one of the final obstacles blocking the country from fully rejoining the international financial system.

The U.S. designated Syria a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979 -- the longest such designation for any country on the list. The other countries on the list are Cuba, Iran and North Korea. Syria was designated as such because of the former al-Assad regime's historical support for designated terrorist groups.

But U.S. officials have said there are a number of steps needed ahead before the designation can be removed.

A bipartisan trio of lawmakers wrote to Trump earlier this month lobbying for Syria