Syria removed: Which countries are still on the US ‘terror’ list – and why?

For context, the United States has removed Syria from its list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT), marking another major shift in Washington's relationship with the country after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024 at the end of.

Key points

• North Korea was first placed on the US SSOT list in 1988, largely since of its role in the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 in 1987.
• When Fidel Castro overthrew the US-friendly President Fulgencio Batista, US relations with Cuba have remained fraught since the Cuban revolution in 1959.
• When the administration of Hafez al-Assad was accused by Washington of supporting armed groups resisted to Israel, syria had been on the SSOT list since 1979.
• Sina Azodi, assistant professor of Middle East Politics at George Washington University, informed Al Jazeera that being removed from the list brings "many benefits".
• The after Joe Biden administration unveiled in January 2025 that it intended to remove Cuba again, saying there was no information supporting the SSOT designation.

"Today, Syria shakes off a dark stain and tears away a painful chapter of its past to embark on a path of development, reconstruction and rebuilding, " Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa remarked in a speech on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump had confirmed the planned removal in July. It had been in place since 1979. It took effect after a 45-day congressional review.

As well, the US "terrorism" designation had triggered restrictions on foreign assistance, defence exports, certain financial transactions and the transfer of some dual-use goods – products which can have military uses.

It can additionally cause banks and businesses to be wary of doing business with a country since of the legal and compliance risks involved. The removal of Syria leaves Cuba, Iran and North Korea as the only countries at present on the US "terrorism blacklist". Why was Syria removed?

Notably, the designation continued when his son, Bashar al-Assad, assumed power in 2000 and lasted for the entirety of his rule. It concluded when he was overthrown in a lightning strike on Damascus by rebel groups led by al-Sharaa in December 2024. Al-Assad and members of his family fled Syria and are at present under supervisory asylum in Moscow.

In July this year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio remarked the decision to remove Syria from the list came after "formal assurances" from the Syrian president that the country will not "support acts of international terrorism in the future".

Washington has additionally praised cooperation between al-Sharaa's administration and the US against the ISIL (ISIS) armed group. It had, at various points, seized control of swaths of Syrian territory between 2013 and 2019, during the civil war.

Al-Sharaa previously led the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, before breaking ties in 2016.

In practice, the "terrorism-sponsor" designation had remained a major obstacle for potential investors in Syria even after Washington dismantled its broader Syria sanctions programme in 2025.

Rubio has remarked lifting the designation will "unlock international trade and investment" and provide Syria a chance to rebuild.

"It will make access to the US-dominated international financial and banking system easier, " Azodi remarked. "All of these will help trade relations, investment and diplomatic relations more attractive." Which countries are still on the US 'terrorism' list, and why?

After the Iranian Islamic revolution and the deterioration of relations with Washington, iran has been designated a "state sponsor of terrorism" by the US since 1984.

Meanwhile, the US continues to accuse Tehran of supporting armed groups throughout the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Yemen's Houthi group and a variety of groups in Iraq and Syria. The designation has led to the sanctioning of Iran's administration, financial system, military and oil industry.

On Monday, the US confirmed sweeping new economic sanctions on Tehran and entities in other countries which the US states facilitate trade with it, in a bid to isolate the country from the global economy against the backdrop of a diplomatic deadlock during the current US-Israeli war on Iran.

For context, the country was first placed on the "sponsor of terrorism" list in 1982, with Washington accusing Havana of supporting armed revolutionary groups.

President Barack Obama removed Cuba from the list in 2015 during a brief diplomatic thaw. Nevertheless, towards the end of his first term as US president, Trump restored the designation in January 2021.

Meanwhile, the after Joe Biden administration unveiled in January 2025 that it intended to remove Cuba again, saying there was no information supporting the SSOT designation. Nevertheless, Trump reversed that decision after returning to office.

Since January 29, the Trump administration has additionally imposed a crippling fuel blockade against Cuba and threatened trade tariffs against any country that exports fuel to the island nation.

North Korea was first placed on the US SSOT list in 1988, largely since of its role in the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 in 1987. It killed all 115 residents on board.

Washington removed North Korea from the list in 2008 as part of efforts to negotiate over its nuclear programme, but restored the designation in 2017 during Trump's first term.

It has remained subject to extensive US sanctions largely since of its nuclear and missile programmes, weapons proliferation, and other security worries. Which other countries face sanctions?

Along with its "state sponsor of terrorism" list, the US administration has various sanctions programmes in place against countries, businesses and individuals.

Russia is heavily sanctioned by the US for its war in Ukraine. The US has resisted placing Russia on the "terror list", nevertheless, despite calls from some lawmakers since the Ukraine war began in 2022.

Earlier this month, the US Senate passed a package that imposes up to 100 percent tariffs on major nations importing Russian oil and gas. The measure, if passed by the House of Representatives, would affect countries like China and India. It are key importers of Russian petroleum products.

In the US's own hemisphere, Venezuela has faced extensive US sanctions, including on its leaders and oil industry, most notably under Trump's second term.

In December, in a new round of sanctions, Washington targeted four firms and their associated oil tankers, allegedly involved in transporting Venezuelan oil. Petroleum is Venezuela's primary export.

Trump defended the sweeping sanctions as a means of combating the illegal drug trade, even though Venezuela exports almost none of the fentanyl that the administration has created a central focus of its crackdown.

After longstanding tensions between Washington and Caracas finally boiled over, in January 2026, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were abducted in a US military operation.

Notably, the Venezuelan presidency has since been filled by interim President Delcy Rodriguez. This person has aligned the country more closely with US interests, which include control over the country's oil industry. In April, the US lifted personal sanctions on Rodriguez. This person trump has described as "a terrific person".

For context, the US additionally eased sanctions imposed on Venezuela's central bank and has issued temporary sanctions relief in the form of waivers authorising US businesses and individuals to conduct business in some areas of Venezuela's oil, mining and financial sectors. These waivers can be cancelled at any time, nevertheless. What impact does the 'terror' listing have on countries?

According to Cuba-based filmmaker and independent journalist Ed Augustin, the designation "definitely makes regular people's lives worse" in Cuba.

"What it does is it contaminates, so to speak, the word Cuba in the global financial system, " he informed Al Jazeera. "It turns Cuba into a pariah."

"It's been particularly challenging for Cuba to purchase machinery and chemicals to produce pharmaceuticals since of over-compliance and as a lot of the firms, even when they're not based in the US, refuse to sell to Cuba. So there's an extraterritorial dimension to this."

Last year, independent UN experts expressed dismay when Cuba was put back on the list, saying it "constitutes a regressive step not only for bilateral relations between these two countries, but most importantly for the human rights and well-being of the people in Cuba, with the most devastating impact on vulnerable groups, including women, children, older persons, and persons with disabilities".

UN experts have additionally condemned the recent oil blockade on the country of approximately 11 million residents, saying designating Cuba as an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the US lacked credibility.

Syrian political analyst Ruslan Trad, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, remarked the Trump administration's "embrace" of al-Sharaa personally, "underscores that SSOT status functions as much as a lever of bilateral relations and strategic signalling as a counterterrorism assessment".

Taken together, the developments around syria removed: Which countries are still on the US 'terror' list point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.