UK LIFTS TERRORIST DESIGNATION ON SYRIA’S HAYAT TAHRIR AL-SHAM AFTER REGIME CHANGE
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Agency Report
The United Kingdom has officially removed Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from its list of banned terrorist organisations, following the group’s overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad and subsequent takeover of the Syrian government in December last year.
The move follows a similar decision by the United States, which revoked HTS’s terrorist designation in July, marking a significant shift in Western engagement with the new Syrian authorities.
HTS, formerly known as Al-Nusra Front, had been proscribed by the UK in 2017 due to its links with Al-Qaeda, from which it severed ties in 2016 in an attempt to reposition itself as a nationalist movement.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, the British Foreign and Interior Ministries said the decision would pave the way for closer diplomatic cooperation with Damascus, now governed by a coalition led by HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who serves as interim president.
“The government’s decision to remove Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations will mean closer engagement with the new Syrian government,” the statement read.
The UK also noted that the removal order already laid before Parliament would support joint efforts with Syria to “eliminate the Assad regime’s chemical weapons programme.”
Since assuming power, the new government has dissolved armed factions, integrating former HTS and allied fighters into state institutions such as the Syrian National Police.
The development marks a dramatic diplomatic turnaround, as several Western nations, including France and the United States, have opened talks with Syria’s new leadership. Sharaa has recently held meetings with US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at restoring international ties.
Britain’s then-Foreign Minister David Lammy also visited Damascus in July, announcing the re-establishment of full diplomatic relations more than a decade after they were severed during the civil war.
The UK was among the first countries to recognise Syrian rebel groups in 2011, after Assad’s violent suppression of pro-democracy protests plunged the nation into conflict. In 2018, Britain joined US-led airstrikes on Assad’s chemical weapons facilities, following a suspected gas attack on civilians.
In April 2025, London lifted sanctions on Syria’s interior and defence ministries, as well as several media and intelligence agencies a move that signalled warming relations with the post-Assad administration.
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