The regional spokesperson for the US State Department, Samuel Werberg, said that the US is now reviewing the classification of Syrian rebel leader Abu Muhammad al-Julani (aka Ahmad al-Sharaa), Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, and all groups in Syria that were previously classified as “terrorist organizations.”
During in an interview with “Al-Hadath Al-Youm” channel on Tuesday, Werberg said that America’s classification of some groups as “terrorist organizations” or imposing some sanctions on a specific party is not a goal in itself, but rather a means of pressuring the person or group to change its behavior, including sanctions on Russia, Iran, and Syria.
The US is now reviewing the sanctions and classifications, he said, in order to find out whether these sanctions have actually led to changes or not.
Werberg continued: “Now, in these hours, there are offices and departments in the US government conducting these reviews regarding al-Julani, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, and any other group in Syria that was classified as a terrorist organization.”
He stressed that he does not anticipate any decisions that will be issued by the US administration in this regard, adding: “But without a doubt, now we have a new Syria and new circumstances that did not exist a week ago, and these changes prompt us to think about all the sanctions and classifications.”
Werberg pointed out that the US’s imposition of a sanction or terrorist classification on a specific person or group does not criminalize communication with this person or entity, explaining that US law prohibits its financing but does not prohibit communication with it.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
