On August 24, 2026, the U.S. Department of State removed Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) revoked Syria General License (GL) 25 after delisting Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List. The same day, OFAC suspended Iran General Licenses F and G, issued Iran General Licenses AA and BB, published an Executive Order 13902 determination covering five Iranian economic sectors, and added a large batch of Iran-related individuals, entities, and vessels to the SDN List, as set out in OFAC's August 24, 2026 recent-actions release.
Compliance teams face a dual update: Syria-facing screening and licensing logic must stop treating Syria as a Terrorism List Government under 31 CFR part 596 and must remove HTS from blocked-party filters, while Iran-facing controls must tighten immediately. Treasury framed the Iran package as the opening of Operation Economic Outcast in its August 24, 2026 press release on the Iran campaign, and explained the Syria relief track in a parallel Syria sanctions-relief press release.
What changed for Syria on August 24, 2026?
Syria is no longer subject to the Terrorism List Governments Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 596, or 22 U.S.C. 7205(a)(1), because the State Department rescinded the State Sponsor of Terrorism designation. State also revoked the Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) designation of al-Nusrah Front, also known as HTS, and OFAC removed HTS from the SDN List. GL 25, which had authorized certain transactions that could otherwise have been prohibited because of HTS's role in the Syrian government, is revoked as no longer necessary.
OFAC updated FAQs 1220, 1221, and 1222 and removed FAQ 1223. Commerce, State, and Treasury also issued an updated Tri-Seal Advisory on sanctions and export-controls relief for Syria. The relief does not wipe every Syria-related restriction: other OFAC programs, export-control rules, and remaining blocked persons still apply. Treasury's Syria release notes that OFAC concurrently designated former HTS affiliates tied to al-Qa'ida and Hurras al-Din, so Syria screening must be rebuilt with precision, not flipped to an all-clear posture.
What did OFAC change on Iran licenses and EO 13902?
Iran General License F (sports activities and exchanges) and Iran General License G (academic exchanges and certain educational services) are suspended as of August 24, 2026. Any US person or transaction that previously relied on those licenses must stop immediately unless a different authorization applies. OFAC issued Iran General License AA, authorizing certain activities involving La Nivernaise De Raffinage SAS, and Iran General License BB, authorizing the wind-down of certain transactions previously authorized under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.
OFAC also published a Determination Pursuant to Executive Order 13902 covering the aviation, digital asset, gold, shipping, and technology sectors of the Iranian economy, expanding the sectoral surface for designations and secondary-sanctions risk. An updated Iran-related alert on sanctions risks of Iranian demands for Strait of Hormuz passage reinforces that maritime and insurance desks should treat Hormuz transit demands as a live sanctions-risk factor, not a commercial inconvenience.
Who is hit by the new Iran SDN batch, and what must they do now?
Banks, fintechs, VASPs, maritime P&I insurers, charterers, freight forwarders, and trade-finance providers with exposure through the UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Turkey, India, China, the UK, Switzerland, France, Greece, or Malaysia must push the August 24, 2026 SDN update same day. The batch includes individuals with BTC, ETH, TRX, and USDT wallets, shipping and logistics entities linked to Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines networks, polymer and petrochemical intermediaries, and LPG and crude tankers including G SILVER, QUANTUM HOPE, SIFRA, STAR PIONE, TELA, and VOYAGE ELITE.
| Action | Instrument | Effective | Compliance consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syria SST rescission; HTS SDN removal; GL 25 revoked | State designation + OFAC SDN / GL | August 24, 2026 | Rebuild Syria filters; stop relying on GL 25; re-read Tri-Seal Advisory |
| Iran GL F and GL G suspended | ITSR general licenses | August 24, 2026 | Halt sports/academic reliance; map residual licenses |
| Iran GL AA and GL BB issued | ITSR general licenses | August 24, 2026 | Scope AA (La Nivernaise) and BB wind-down before continuing deals |
| EO 13902 sector determination + large SDN add | EO 13902; SDN List | August 24, 2026 | Screen names, wallets, vessels; apply 50 Percent Rule |
Under OFAC's strict-liability civil-penalty framework, a match that clears because the list file is stale is still a violation. Propagate ownership under the 50 Percent Rule, block designated crypto addresses, and quarantine counterparties linked to the new vessel and logistics names before the next settlement cycle. Continuous, per-jurisdiction real-time monitoring surfaces this kind of OFAC package the moment it publishes.
Take advantage of this real-time watch
Verify whether any open Syria or Iran exposure depended on GL 25, GL F, or GL G, and document the wind-down or stop-work decision against GL BB and residual authorities. Reload SDN and consolidated-list feeds, back-match customers, beneficial owners, vessels, and wallet addresses, and brief sanctions, trade finance, maritime, and export-controls counsel the same day. Keep the dated evidence of screening and license reassessment: under strict liability, that file is the primary defense if OFAC later asks what changed on August 24, 2026.
