Syria to be removed from US terrorism list: US Congressman

• Joe Wilson says a bipartisan deal would remove Syria from the US terrorism list.
• Wilson plans legislation to support and speed up the move.
• Announcement follows talks between Ahmed al-Sharaa and Donald Trump.
• Wilson has long backed normalizing US-Syria relations and easing sanctions.

In what marks a profound transformation in U.S.–Syrian relations, senior American lawmaker Representative Joe Wilson has announced a formal agreement with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to remove Syria from the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

The critical legislative breakthrough was made public following a video broadcast shared on X by Mohammed Alaa Ghanem, the head of political affairs at the Syrian American Council.

In the footage, Wilson explicitly confirmed the consensus with the State Department, stating, "We have reached an agreement with Rubio to remove Syria from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list."

#عاجل: النائب الأميركي البارز 'جو ويلسون'، يُعلنُ عن الوصول لاتفاقٍ مع وزير الخارجية الأميركي 'ماركو روبيو' لرفع اسم #سورية من لائحة الدول الراعية للإرهاب، ويَسرّنا علاوةً على ذلك أن نُعلنَ عن طَرْحِهِ لتشريعٍ جديدٍ هذا الأسبوع في مجلسِ النوّاب لرفعِ اسمِ سورية من هذه اللائحة.… pic.twitter.com/TlKID69eYf

— Mohammed Alaa Ghanem محمد علاء غانم (@MhdAGhanem) June 22, 2026

New legislation 

To codify the agreement, Representative Wilson announced his intention to introduce a new piece of legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives.

The dual mandate of the proposed bill aims to solidify congressional backing and accelerate execution by the executive branch.

• Congressional endorsement: The bill will signal a unified, veto-proof message from Capitol Hill to President Donald Trump and the State Department confirming legislative approval for the policy shift.
• Accelerating the timeline: The text will formally urge the executive branch to finalize and declare the official de-listing at the earliest opportunity, clearing long-standing bureaucratic hurdles.

The announcement builds upon Wilson's earlier statements noting that US–Syria relations have entered a highly constructive trajectory.

The South Carolina Republican has consistently argued that maintaining outdated, decades-old security designations directly stifles regional stability, freezes vital international banking infrastructure, and hinders essential economic growth.

Unraveling Caesar Act

The upcoming anti-terror delisting marks the culmination of a broader campaign by lawmakers like Wilson to roll back the aggressive sanctions wall built during the height of the civil war.

Wilson has played a central, bipartisan role in chipping away at the broad restriction parameters, leading delegations to Damascus and aggressively pushing for the conditional rollback of the Caesar Act.

Proponents of this legislative path maintain that eliminating legacy sanctions is the only viable method to provide the Syrian population with a pathway toward normalization, facilitating direct foreign investments and setting a baseline for post-war stabilization.

Trump-Sharaa hotline 

The diplomatic push on Capitol Hill directly mirrors intensified backchannel communications between the executive heads of both nations.

The legislative announcement comes on the heels of a historic telephone call between newly appointed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and US President Donald Trump.

During their direct talks, Trump and Sharaa extensively evaluated the operational mechanisms required to foster positive bilateral ties and reviewed a spectrum of pressing regional security concerns.

In the call, President Trump heavily underscored Washington's intent to help preserve territorial stability, while expressing clear American backing for comprehensive recovery and reconstruction initiatives across the war-torn state.