US Christians condemn Trump for lifting sanctions on Syrian militants

Head of Syria Ahmed al-Sharaa. Photo: Getty Images

On July 7, 2025, Christian human rights organizations in the USA strongly criticized President Donald Trump after his administration lifted sanctions and revoked its designation of the Syria's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group as a foreign terrorist organization. This was reported by Christian Post.

In an order signed on June 30, Trump stated that the USA "no longer considers the current Syrian government a continuation of the terrorist group" and noted: "The new authority in Damascus is demonstrating efforts to restore order and deserves appropriate treatment." Based on this document, the State Department revoking the foreign terrorist organization designation of HTS.

Christian human rights advocates called this decision dangerous and unjust.
"The Trump Administration just revoked the terrorist designation for AlNusra Front (AlQaeda/HTS). The same people that killed scores of American soldiers in Iraq and thousands of Americans on 9/11. The same group that crucified Christians in Syria and murdered Bishops/Priests/Nuns in Iraq in cold blood," stated the Iraqi Christian Foundation.

HTS, formerly known as "Jabhat al-Nusra," was recognized as a terrorist group by the USA in 2018. Its leader Ahmad al-Sharaa (formerly Abu Muhammad al-Jolani) previously led "Al-Qaeda" militants and was imprisoned in an American jail in Iraq.

After the overthrow of the Assad regime in December 2024, HTS forces captured Damascus. The new head of Syria, al-Sharaa, promised reforms and the protection of minority rights, which allowed Washington and other countries to begin the process of normalizing relations with the new regime.

However, in American Christian circles, these promises are met with skepticism, especially after the explosion in a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus on June 22, which took the lives of more than 20 people. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack.

Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, noted: "This attack was the first serious test of al-Sharaa's regime's promises to be tolerant. And it failed."

Richard Ghazal, head of the organization In Defense of Christians, emphasized: "Diplomacy is not a sign of approval. It should be a tool of pressure. The USA must demand real protection of Christians from the new authority in Syria."

According to human rights activists, the Christian population of Syria has decreased from 2 million in 2010 to less than 300,000. And the decision of the American administration may increase fears of a new wave of persecution.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a US congressman condemned the terror against Christians in Syria.

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