US says terror designation doesn’t bar talks with Syrian rebel group

WASHINGTON — The State Department said Monday it is not actively reviewing the “foreign terrorist organization” designation of the main Syrian rebel group that overthrew Bashar Assad’s government this weekend. But, it said such designations are constantly under review, and that even while it’s in place, the label does not bar U.S. officials from speaking with the group.

“There is no specific review related to what happened” over the weekend, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. “That said, we are always reviewing. Based on their actions, there could be a change in our sanctions posture, but we have nothing today.”

He said a review could be initiated if Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, takes steps to reverse the reasons for its designation. That would be based entirely on its actions, he said.

The designation imposes numerous sanctions against those targeted, including a ban on the provision of “material support” to such groups, although Miller said that would not necessarily prevent discussions between its members and U.S. officials.

HTS will be an “important component” in what transpires in Syria and the U.S. needs to “engage with them, appropriately, and with U.S. interests in mind,” said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Miller cited the case of the Trump administration negotiating with the Taliban over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, but later conceded that the Taliban has never been designated in the same way. Instead, the Taliban was listed as a “specially designated terrorist organization,” a label that comes with less stringent sanctions.

Nevertheless, Miller said U.S. officials “do have the ability, when it is in our interest, legally to communicate with a designated terrorist organization.”

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and Jordan’s King Abdullah II spoke by phone about the rapidly evolving situation in Syria and joint efforts to keep the Islamic State militant group from exploiting the situation, according to the White House.

In their call, Biden and the Jordanian monarch also discussed the dozens of U.S. airstrikes conducted on Sunday targeting IS leaders and fighters in the Syrian desert as well as ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.

The call came as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs John Bass and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf were in the region holding consultations with key partners. They are in Amman, Jordan, on Monday and were in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend, the State Department said.

More than a million Syrian refugees have flooded into neighboring Jordan since the civil war ignited in 2011, and officials in Amman are hoping to avoid another refugee crisis following the fall of Assad’s government.

“The President emphasized the support of the United States for the stability of Jordan and Jordan’s central role in maintaining stability and de-escalating tensions throughout the Middle East region,” the White House said in a statement.

Separately, the State Department said the U.S. had arranged with local groups to secure the shuttered U.S. Embassy compound in Damascus, which suspended operations in 2012 and had been until recently under the protection of the Czech Embassy.

The Czechs, however, closed their own embassy in Damascus as the situation in the capital grew more uncertain. It would not say with what groups the U.S. made the arrangements.