The United States removed Syria from the list of countries automatically denied access to acquiring American military equipment

U.S. President Donald Trump (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)President Donald Trump's administration will remove Syria from the list of countries subject to a denial policy for purchasing or importing arms from the United States, a measure that will allow Syrian requests to acquire American weapons and ammunition to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The State Department published a notice in the Federal Register on Wednesday amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). With the change, Syria will no longer be part of the group of countries that require automatic denial of licenses and other authorizations related to military equipment sales. The amendment will take effect this Thursday and is part of the process of easing sanctions against the current government in Damascus and its leaders. Last year, Trump took steps to ease the economic sanctions that Washington had maintained against Syria for decades, during the regime of the ousted former dictator Bashar al-Assad. In August, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. The department led by the U.S. top diplomat also announced plans to reopen the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, which has been closed for 14 years. After Syria's removal from the ITAR restrictions list, seven countries will remain under the denial policy for U.S. arms exports: Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Venezuela. Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa overthrew the Al-Assad regime nearly two years ago. His administration promoted changes that the White House considers a path toward greater stability in a country affected by civil war and the Islamic State insurgency. U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO leaders' summit at the Bestepe Presidential Complex in Ankara (Turkey), on July 8, 2026 (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File)The U.S. Army completed the withdrawal of all its troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission against the Islamic State group, a situation that could expand the Syrian government's role in efforts to prevent an Islamic State resurgence. The last personnel left an air base in the north of the country, in compliance with an agreement reached between Baghdad and Washington. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell reported that U.S. troops and equipment completed an "orderly departure" from Erbil air base, located in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. "This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region," Parnell said, adding: "It also marks the transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort, backed by a more conventional bilateral security relationship." The Iraqi government presented the withdrawal as a sign of the strengthening of its sovereignty and institutions. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi presided over the base handover ceremony and described the American departure as the beginning of a new era. "A new phase, defined by Iraq's sovereignty, the strength of its institutions, the readiness of its forces, unity in decision-making, and balanced partnerships with its allies," he declared. The head of government noted that Iraqi security forces will maintain operations against the Islamic State. He also said his administration will seek to ensure that non-state groups are disarmed. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi delivers a speech on the occasion of Sovereignty Day and the withdrawal of Iraq from the U.S.-led coalition forces, in Baghdad (Iraq), on September 30, 2026 (Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office/Handout via REUTERS)The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 with the goal of overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Its troops withdrew in 2011, but three years later Baghdad requested a new, smaller mission led by Washington to combat the Islamic State, which at the time controlled large areas of the country. After the extremist group was reduced to scattered cells, Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to end that mission. U.S. forces left their bases in most of Iraq last year, although they kept hundreds of troops in the Kurdish region. The withdrawal took place amid the war between the United States and Iran, a conflict that also reached Iraqi territory. Tehran-backed militias attacked U.S. military personnel in Iraq, while Washington bombed those groups' positions. (With information from Associated Press)