US lifts arms export denial policy on Syria, allowing case-by-case licenses

The State Department has removed Syria from the ITAR list of countries facing a blanket denial of U.S. defense export licenses, opening the way for case-by-case approvals.

The U.S. State Department has lifted its policy of denying licenses for defense exports to Syria, removing the country from the list of nations subject to a blanket ban under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The change took effect on October 1.

Umayyad Square in Damascus (archive)

Under a new defense trade policy approved by the Secretary of State on August 19, transfers of defense articles and services to Syria will now be reviewed on a case-by-case basis rather than automatically refused. The rule implements that decision by deleting Syria from ITAR section 126.1, which lists countries subject to prohibited exports, imports and sales.

The step is the latest in a series of moves by the Commerce, State and Treasury departments to ease sanctions on Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. It follows the rescission of Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, which took effect on August 24.

The State Department’s Harry S. Truman Building (archive)

With Syria removed, seven countries remain under the U.S. arms export policy of denial: Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Venezuela. The decision reflects warming ties between the Trump administration and the new Syrian government, whose president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, visited the White House in November 2025.