Published On 6/11/2025
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Last update: 06:02 (Mecca time)
A diplomatic source told Al Jazeera that the United States called for a vote today, Thursday, in the UN Security Council to remove the names of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab from the international sanctions list imposed on the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.
The diplomatic source said that the United States made some amendments to the text of the draft resolution, especially those related to foreign fighters.
He explained that the new text does not deal with what China tried to push for exemptions for a period of one year that could be renewed.
A diplomatic source had told Al Jazeera that China had submitted amendments that also proposed mentioning foreign fighters in the text of the draft resolution.
The source stated that the United States expressed to some Council members its desire to hold a vote on the draft resolution before President Al-Sharaa’s visit to Washington and his meeting with President Donald Trump next Monday.
Trump announced the lifting of sanctions imposed on Damascus in his speech at the Saudi-American Investment Forum during his visit to Riyadh in mid-May, in a move that was welcomed by the Syrian government and Arab countries.
The day after he announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria, the American President also held a meeting with the Syrian President in Riyadh, in a meeting that was the first of its kind between an American and a Syrian president in 25 years.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, was the official wing of al-Qaeda in Syria until it cut ties with it in 2016. Since May 2014, the group has been included on the UN Council’s sanctions list against al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
A number of members of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham are subject to United Nations sanctions, including a travel ban, asset freeze, and arms embargo.
A Security Council sanctions committee has been granting Sharaa travel exemptions this year, so even if the US-drafted resolution is not adopted before Monday, the Syrian president will likely be able to visit the White House.