Overview
- The Council voted 14–0 to delist President Ahmed al‑Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Hasan Khattab from the ISIL and al‑Qaeda sanctions list, with China abstaining on the US‑drafted resolution.
- Washington advanced the vote ahead of al‑Sharaa’s November 10 White House visit, with US officials indicating Syria is expected to join the US‑led coalition against ISIS during the trip.
- Beijing’s envoy Fu Cong criticized the measure for downplaying counterterrorism and foreign‑fighter risks, a stance that helped strip broader HTS delisting from earlier US drafts.
- Analysts and diplomats described the step as largely symbolic because travel waivers were already routine, though it also ends a UN asset freeze and arms embargo on the two officials.
- Substantive economic change remains constrained by the Caesar Act, and Senate leaders Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen signaled they are working with the administration on repealing those sanctions.