UN Security Council removes sanctions on Syria’s president, interior minister

The UN Security Council has voted to lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ahead of his official visit to the White House next week.

Sharaa, who became Syria’s transitional president after leading a rebel coalition that ousted Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, was previously under UN sanctions for his role as leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a militant group once affiliated with al-Qaeda. The United States delisted HTS as a foreign terrorist organization in July, paving the way for international engagement with the new Syrian government.

Washington’s UN ambassador, Mike Waltz, said the decision “sends a strong political signal” recognizing that Syria has entered “a new era” since Assad’s removal. The UN also lifted sanctions on Syria’s Interior Minister Anas Khattab.

Syria’s foreign minister welcomed the decision, writing on social media: “Syria expresses its appreciation to the United States and to friendly nations for their support of Syria and its people.”

President Sharaa is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday in Washington, their second meeting since May, when Trump described the Syrian leader as a “tough guy” with “a very strong past” and “a real shot at pulling it together.”

Sharaa, who severed HTS’s ties with al-Qaeda in 2016, has been central to Syria’s post-war reconstruction efforts and recent diplomatic rehabilitation. His visit follows his September address to the UN General Assembly the first by a Syrian leader in nearly six decades where he declared Syria was “reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world” and expressed solidarity with the people of Gaza.