WASHINGTON — The United States is lobbying for the removal of UN Security Council sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his former militant group, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the effort.

It has circulated a draft resolution to the United Kingdom and France that calls for the delisting of Sharaa — formerly known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Golani — and Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab. Both men are named on the United Nations’ counter-terrorism sanctions list targeting al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS), meaning they require special dispensation from the UN to travel internationally. 

The US text also expands sanctions exemptions to better facilitate commercial activity in Syria, and it includes a narrow arms embargo exemption for several UN agencies to carry out landmine removal and other work without their equipment being subject to dual-use restrictions.

The original US draft sought to remove Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a sanctioned entity, the diplomatic sources said. But anticipating resistance from Security Council members including China, the United States removed that provision from its latest text and will instead seek the group’s delisting through the relevant UN Sanctions Committee, which operates behind closed doors.