The United States has submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for the removal of sanctions on self-proclaimed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (Al Jolani) and Interior Minister Anas Khattab. The move comes ahead of Jolani’s scheduled visit to the White House to meet President Donald Trump on Monday. The resolution seeks to lift UN restrictions that include travel bans and asset freezes originally tied to the terror group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Washington has already granted Jolani multiple temporary travel exemptions this year, making his White House visit likely even if the proposed resolution is not adopted in time.

The shift marks a sharp U.S. policy reversal. In May 2025, President Trump announced that his administration would lift unilateral sanctions on Syria, citing changed circumstances in Damascus. On June 30, a presidential executive order terminated most remaining U.S. sanctions on Syria. The order directed the Secretary of State to review HTS’s status, Jolani’s designation, and Syria’s state-sponsor listing.

Jolani, a former HTS leader once designated a terrorist, rose to power when his forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad with foreign help in December 2024. He met with President Trump in Riyadh in May, where the U.S. leader indicated Washington would drop all sanctions and explore normalizing ties with Syria, the first such meeting between U.S. and Syrian leaders in 25 years. In September, Jolani attended the UN General Assembly in New York, the first Syrian president to do so in nearly six decades.