On June 30, US President Donald Trump lifted most of the decades-long sanctions against Syria, reconsidering putting Ahmed al-Sharaa - leader of the alliance of Islamic forces that overthrew the government of former President Bashar al-Assad - on the terrorist list.
Many financial restrictions have been lifted, but President Trump has maintained targeted sanctions against President Assad, who was ousted, and members who served in Syria's former government.
US sanctions on what it designates as a foreign terrorist organization will also remain the same.
However, Trump has directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reconsider the appointment of HTS - the Sunni Islam organization to participate in the Syrian civil war - as well as labeling him as al-Sharaa a "specifically designated global terrorist".
Washington will also review the designation of Syria a state sponsor of terrorism, first applied in 1979.
The decision came after Trump's May meeting with al-Sharaa in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), where discussions focused on Syria's reconstruction and the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel.
At the time, Trump pledged to give the new leadership in Damascus "a great opportunity".
To oversee Washington's growing ties with Damascus, he has appointed Thomas Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey, as the US special ambassador to Syria.
