Ahmed al-Sharaa

"Al-Sharaa" and "Julani" redirect here. For other people with these names, see Al-Sharaa (surname) and Julani (name).

Not to be confused with Mohammad al-Shaar or Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar.

His Excellency Ahmed al-Sharaa
أحمد الشرع
Al-Sharaa in 2025
President of Syria
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 January 2025
Prime Minister	Mohammed al-Bashir (2024–2025)
Vice President	Vacant
Preceded by	Himself (as de facto Leader) Bashar al-Assad
Leader of Syria
De facto 8 December 2024 – 29 January 2025
Prime Minister	Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali Mohammed al-Bashir
Preceded by	Bashar al-Assad (as President)
Succeeded by	Himself (as President)
Emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham
In office 1 October 2017 – 29 January 2025
Preceded by	Abu Jaber Sheikh
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Emir of al-Nusra Front
In office 23 January 2012 – 28 January 2017
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (1982-10-29) 29 October 1982 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Party	Independent (since 2025)
Other political affiliations	Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (2017–2025)
Spouse	Latifa al-Droubi ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	3
Parent	Hussein al-Sharaa (father)
Relatives	Maher Hazem Jamal (brothers)
Religion	Islam
Residence	People's Palace
Education	Damascus University (dropped out)
Signature
Nickname	Abu Mohammad al-Julani
Military service
Allegiance	Syria (2024–present) Formerly Al-Qaeda (2003–2016) Al-Qaeda in Iraq (2003‍–‍2011) Al-Nusra Front (2012‍–‍2016) Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (2016‍–‍2017) Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (2017‍–‍2025) Syrian Salvation Government (2017‍–‍2024)
Years of service	2003–2024
Rank	Commander-in-chief
Commands	Syrian Armed Forces
Battles/wars	See list Iraq War Iraqi insurgency 2003–2006 phase  (POW) Syrian civil war Inter-rebel conflict 2016 Idlib clashes 2017 Idlib clashes 2020 Idlib clashes 2021 Idlib clashes 2022 Aleppo clashes 2014 Idlib offensive 2015 Idlib offensive 2017 Hama offensive Northwestern Syria campaign (October 2017 – February 2018) Idlib demilitarization (2018–2019) 2018 Aleppo clashes Dawn of Idlib Dawn of Idlib 2 2024 Syrian opposition offensives Battle of Aleppo Hama offensive Homs offensive Fall of Damascus

Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (born 29 October 1982), also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is a Syrian politician and former rebel commander who has served as the president of Syria since 2025. He previously served as the emir of Al-Nusra Front from 2012 to 2017, the emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from 2017 to 2025 and was the de facto leader of Syria from December 2024 until his appointment as president in January 2025.

Born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to a Syrian Sunni Muslim family from Daraa and the Golan Heights, he grew up in Syria's capital, Damascus. Al-Sharaa joined al-Qaeda in Iraq shortly before the 2003 invasion of Iraq and fought for three years in the Iraqi insurgency. American forces captured and imprisoned him from 2006 to 2011. His release coincided with the Syrian revolution against the Ba'athist dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. Al-Sharaa created Al-Nusra Front in 2012 with the support of al-Qaeda to topple the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war. As the emir of al-Nusra Front, al-Sharaa built a stronghold in the northwestern Idlib Governorate. He resisted Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's attempts to merge al-Nusra Front with the Islamic State, leading to armed conflict between the two groups. In 2016, al-Sharaa cut al-Nusra's ties with al-Qaeda and launched a crackdown on its loyalists. Since breaking with al-Qaeda, he has sought international legitimacy by presenting a more moderate view of himself, renouncing transnational jihadism against Western nations, and focusing on governance in Syria while vowing to protect Syria's minorities.

Al-Sharaa merged al-Nusra with other organizations to form HTS in 2017 and served as its emir from 2017 to 2025. HTS established a technocratic administration known as the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in the territory it controlled in Idlib Governorate. The SSG collected taxes, provided public services, and issued identity cards to residents, though it faced protests and criticism within Idlib for authoritarian tactics and suppressing dissent. Al-Sharaa launched an 11-day offensive against the Assad regime in November 2024 which saw swift victories in Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and Damascus; Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia as his government collapsed.

Al-Sharaa became Syria's de facto leader, heading the post-revolutionary caretaker government from 8 December 2024 until 29 January 2025, when he was appointed president of Syria at the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference held in the People's Palace. As president, he focused on consolidating power, rebuilding state institutions, integrating military factions, and restoring Syria's international relations, including with the United States, Russia, and regional powers. Domestically, al-Sharaa pursued economic recovery, security stabilization, the return of Syrian refugees to their homes, and minority reconciliation, including signing an agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate their military and civil institutions into the state, though negotiations on integration remained inconclusive. In 2026, after clashes in Aleppo between the transitional government and SDF forces, he signed a decree stating that Syrian Kurds are an essential part of the Syrian people. His government launched an offensive against the SDF, initially in the eastern Aleppo Governorate around Deir Hafir and Maskanah, before expanding to Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Al-Hasakah.

Al-Sharaa's first year as president saw massacres targeting Syrian Alawites and clashes in southern Syria, both involving government-affiliated troops, which led to criticism. After breaking the 1974 agreement, Israel intensified its limited invasion of southwestern Syria from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Al-Sharaa reaffirmed Syria's commitment to the 1974 deal and has opposed renewed conflict with Israel. He has condemned Iranian influence and plans to hold elections. Al-Sharaa signed a constitutional declaration establishing a five-year transition period and announced the formation of a transitional government.

Early life and military career

Youth in Syria

Al-Sharaa as a teenager, c. 1996

Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa was born on 29 October 1982 in Riyadh to a middle-class family, of four brothers and two sisters. According to family tradition, the family traced their ancestry back to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to The New York Times, the family discussed politics at home but had no record of involvement in Islamic extremism.

His father, Hussein al-Sharaa, worked as an oil engineer at the Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources, and his mother was a geography teacher. The family returned to Syria in 1989, settling in the affluent Mezzeh neighborhood of Damascus, where his father opened a real estate office. Whilst living in an apartment block in the Mezzeh neighbourhood in the west of the city, al-Sharaa worked part-time as a child in a grocery store owned by his father. He frequented the Shafi'i mosque in his neighbourhood, and at the age of seventeen, he became religious, habitually wearing a long austere tunic and a knitted cap.

According to Hussam Jazmati, who produced his most definitive biography, al-Sharaa's classmates remembered him as a studious but unremarkable boy who wore thick glasses and avoided attention. During his youth, he was described as "bookish", "quiet" and "shy", "manipulatively intelligent" but "socially introverted", and was noted for his "good looks" and a romance with an Alawite girl which both families opposed. In a Reuters interview, a local shop owner from al-Sharaa's neighbourhood recalled meeting him in 1996 during his youth. The shop owner described him as a polite and reserved young man who spoke little and was rarely seen in the neighbourhood unless necessary. After the rebel takeover of Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa briefly returned to his childhood home, where he was seen politely asking the current occupants if they could leave, stating that the house held personal memories for him. Witnesses said the residents obliged, but al-Sharaa has not been seen there since. Despite his absence, neighbours from the block continued to knock on his door daily, hoping to see him.

Al-Sharaa said that, while he largely disagreed with his father ideologically, they both shared a commitment to defending the Palestinians. Besides the displacement of his grandfather and his family from the Golan Heights, al-Sharaa said that the Second Intifada in 2000 had an impact on his life choices. According to an interview with Frontline in 2021, al-Sharaa stated he was radicalized by the Palestinian Second Intifada in "the early 2000s." He said: "I started thinking about how I could fulfil my duties, defending a people who are oppressed by occupiers and invaders." In a 2024 interview, when about his reaction to the September 11 attacks, al-Sharaa stated that "anyone who lived in the Islamic or Arab world at the time who tells you he wasn't happy about it would be lying", but added that he understood "regret" about the killing of innocent people.

Al-Sharaa enrolled at Damascus University, studying media studies and enrolling in the Faculty of Medicine for two years. Whilst being a university student, he travelled from Damascus to Aleppo on Fridays to attend the sermons of Mahmoud Gul Aghasi (Abu al-Qaqaa) there. After studying for two years, he moved to Iraq in 2003 without telling his family.

Iraq war

Mug shot of al-Sharaa in 2006, after his capture by U.S. forces in Iraq

Al-Sharaa traveled from Damascus to Baghdad by bus just weeks before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. In 2003, he was detained and questioned by the Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate for his illegal departure from Syria to Iraq, but was released after denying affiliation with any political parties or extremist groups. After arriving in Iraq, al-Sharaa quickly rose through the ranks of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). The Times of Israel claimed in 2013 that al-Sharaa was a close associate of AQI leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In his 2021 interview with Frontline, al-Sharaa denied ever meeting al-Zarqawi and asserted that he served only as a regular foot-soldier under al-Qaeda against the American occupation. The Economist reported in 2025 that Iraqi intelligence believed al-Sharaa was Zarqawi's deputy in 2004.

It is claimed that after Zarqawi was killed in a US airstrike in 2006, al-Sharaa left Iraq and briefly stayed in Lebanon, where he provided logistical support to the Jund al-Sham jihadist militant group. Before the beginning of the Iraqi civil war in 2006, al-Sharaa returned to Iraq to continue fighting. However, he was arrested by American forces while planting explosives and imprisoned for over five years in various detention centres, including Abu Ghraib, Camp Bucca, Camp Cropper and Camp Taji prisons. Al-Sharaa convinced the Iraqi authorities holding him that he was a local Iraqi, not a foreign fighter, by speaking in Iraqi-accented Arabic and using a pseudonym, Amjad Mudhafar. It is said that during this time, al-Sharaa taught classical Arabic to other prisoners, increasing his popularity.

Syrian civil war

Syrian uprising and foundation of al-Nusra

During a routine detention review, Iraqi authorities, finding no charges against al-Sharaa's pseudonym, Amjad Mudhafar, released him on 13 March 2011, days before the beginning of the Syrian Revolution. Al-Sharaa was tasked in August 2011 by al-Qaeda Emir Ayman al-Zawahiri and al-Qaeda's central command to establish al-Qaeda's mission in Syria. The leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, gave him $50,000 (approximately 60 million dinar) to establish a branch of the group in Syria. Alongside senior operatives from al-Qaeda's central command, he formed "Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ash-Shām" (lit. 'Front of the Supporters of the People of the Levant'), also known as the Al-Nusra Front, which was envisioned by al-Zawahiri as a broad coalition of Islamist militant groups led by al-Sharaa in Syria, with direct allegiance to al-Qaeda's central command. During this time, al-Sharaa went under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, which is sometimes transliterated as Joulani, Jolani, and Golani. According to one source, his "al-Julani" nisba referred to the al-Julani neighborhood of Fallujah in Iraq where he had distinguished himself.

Despite tensions with the leadership of al-Qaeda in Iraq (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI)), who were content with his departure, al-Sharaa proceeded to orchestrate an agreement with al-Baghdadi to expand al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, Jabhat al-Nusra. The group maintained this alliance with the ISI until 2013, with an arrangement between al-Sharaa and al-Baghdadi to resolve disputes through mediation by al-Qaeda Emir Ayman al-Zawahiri. Over time, al-Sharaa began distancing himself from transnational jihadist ideology, increasingly framing his faction within the context of a nationalist Syrian struggle. ISI initially provided al-Sharaa with fighters, weapons, and funding to establish the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. Al-Sharaa implemented these plans alongside ISI leaders after his release from prison.

Sources differ on whether Sharaa was the one who came up with the idea of forming Jabhat al-Nusra or another leader in the Islamic State of Iraq; however, what is certain is that al-Sharaa became the "general emir" of al-Nusra when it was officially announced in January 2012. By December of that year, the US Department of State designated Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organization, identifying it as an alias for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The US State Department listed al-Sharaa as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in May 2013.

Under al-Sharaa's leadership, al-Nusra Front emerged as one of Syria's most powerful rebel groups. Its stronghold was centered on the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria, where they attacked both Ba'athist Syrian government forces and US-supported opposition groups.

War crimes of al-Nusra (2012–2016)

Under al-Sharaa's leadership, al-Nusra Front and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham perpetrated a series of war crimes, suicide bombings, forced conversions and sectarian massacres against Syria's Christian, Alawite, Shia and Druze minorities. These included the January 2012 al-Midan bombing, which killed 26 people and wounded 63. In 2015, al-Nusra fighters killed Druze villagers during the Qalb Loze massacre. The Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya news network claimed that al-Nusra's leadership denounced the attack, asserting that the actions of the attackers were in contradiction to the organization's policy. Al-Nusra was also suspected of carrying out the 10 May 2012 Damascus bombings killing 55 people and injuring over 400, and the February 2013 Damascus bombings which killed 83 people, most of them civilians and children, and were condemned by the Syrian opposition.

In June 2013, al-Nusra Front claimed the "storming and cleansing of Hatla" during which 30 to 60 Shia civilians were killed as part of a wider campaign of sectarian cleansing in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. On 12 May 2016, rebel militants led by al-Nusra Front massacred 42 civilians and seven NDF militiamen while kidnapping up to 70 people after taking control of the Alawite village of Zara'a in Southern Hama.

Al-Nusra was also behind suicide bombings in Lebanon directed against Alawites and Shia populations, including the 2015 Tripoli, Lebanon bombings (for which the group claimed responsibility) and was suspected of carrying out the July 2013 Beirut bombing and the 2013 Iranian embassy bombing in Beirut.

Conflict with ISIS

He is a cunning person; two-faced; adores himself; does not care about the religion of his soldiers; is willing to sacrifice their blood in order to make a name for himself in the media; glows when he hears his name mentioned on satellite channels.

Abu Ali al-Anbari, describing al-Sharaa per New Lines Magazine

As al-Sharaa carved out a fiefdom in Syria between 2012 and 2013, the Iraqi leadership of ISI grew suspicious of him. Al-Nusra became increasingly popular for providing social services and cooperating with other Syrian rebel groups against the Assad regime, and al-Sharaa ignored al-Baghdadi's orders to begin fighting these groups and assassinate opposition activists. Al-Baghdadi's top aide, Abu Ali al-Anbari, travelled to Syria to investigate al-Sharaa, concluding that he was a "cunning person; two-faced; [...] [who] glows when he hears his name mentioned on satellite channels".

Concerned about al-Nusra's popularity and al-Sharaa's perceived insubordination, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi unilaterally announced that al-Nusra would merge into ISI to form the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in April 2013. The proposed merger would have eliminated al-Nusra's autonomy and allegiance to al-Qaeda's central command by placing all its leaders, decisions, and operations under al-Baghdadi's direct control. To preserve al-Nusra's independence, al-Sharaa publicly pledged allegiance (bay'ah) directly to al-Qaeda's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who issued a declaration that confirmed al-Nusra's independence from ISI, proclaiming that Syria was the "spatial state" of al-Nusra Front and that ISI's rule was restricted to Iraq.

Al-Zawahiri repudiated al-Baghdadi's merger move, which was announced without consulting or informing al-Qaeda's central command, and appointed Abu Khalid al-Suri as his emissary to mediate between the two groups and supervise the implementation of the accords. In late 2013, al-Zawahiri ordered al-Baghdadi to accept the annulment of the merger, who refused and attempted to proceed with it. By February 2014, efforts to end the dispute between ISIS and al-Nusra had failed, leading to al-Qaeda formally severing its ties with ISIS in February 2014 and leaving al-Nusra as the sole representative of al-Qaeda in Syria. After the assassination of Abu Khalid al-Suri on 23 February, al-Sharaa denounced ISIS and likened them to the Iraqi "sahawat" who fought against al-Qaeda alongside the U.S., accusing them of undermining the fight against Assad by fighting rebels. Open warfare between ISIS and al-Nusra ensued; al-Sharaa warned that the fighting risked giving a reprieve to Assad. Over the following months, ISIS captured much of the territory controlled by al-Nusra and the Syrian opposition, leaving an estimated four thousand fighters on both sides dead by February 2015. In June 2015, al-Sharaa told Al Jazeera that no resolution to the conflict was forthcoming, and that unless ISIS "repent to God and return to their senses", there would be "nothing but fighting between us".

Brief declaration of an Islamic Emirate in Syria (2014)

In July 2014, an audio recording of a major rally of fighters in Syria was leaked, including al-Sharaa, al-Nusra Front spokesman and former Osama bin Laden aide Abu Firas al-Suri, and al-Nusra deputy Emir and former Egyptian Islamic Jihad commander Ahmad Salama Mabruk. In it, al-Suri could be heard introducing al-Sharaa as "Abu Mohammad al-Julani", al-Nusra's emir, who then spoke of establishing an Islamic emirate in Syria. In a video released by al-Nusra on 8 August 2014, al-Suri said al-Nusra would declare an emirate in Syria only after consulting with other factions.

Threats against the United States

After the start of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition's airstrike campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, al-Sharaa, in a rare public declaration, described the airstrikes as an assault on Islam, and warned the Western public: "This is what will take the battle to the heart of your land, for the Muslims will not stand as spectators watching their sons bombed and killed in their lands, while you stay safe in your lands." In his audio message, released five days after the U.S. strikes, al-Sharaa said: "Do not let the West and America take advantage of the injustice of the Islamic State upon you ... Those who are unable to repulse the Islamic State or others, then let them do so without being a partner with the crusader alliance." Al-Sharaa also warned that al-Nusra will fight any group which takes American cash and weapons, condemning "traitorous factions that were bought by the West with some money and ammunition so as to be a pawn in its hands." In an audio statement released on 28 September 2014, al-Sharaa stated that he would fight the "United States and its allies" and urged his fighters not to accept help from the West in their battle against the Islamic State.

Resurgence of al-Nusra

In late May 2015, al-Sharaa was interviewed by Ahmed Mansour on Qatari news broadcaster Al Jazeera, hiding his face. He described the Geneva peace conference as a farce and claimed that the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition did not represent the Syrian people and had no ground presence in Syria. Al-Sharaa mentioned that al-Nusra had no plans for attacking Western targets and was focused on fighting the Ba'athist Syrian government, Hezbollah, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Al-Sharaa told Al Jazeera America in 2015, "Nusra Front doesn't have any plans or directives to target the West. We received clear orders from Ayman al-Zawahiri not to use Syria as a launching pad to attack the U.S. or Europe in order to not sabotage the true mission against the regime. Maybe Al-Qaeda does that but not here in Syria. Assad forces are fighting us on one end, Hezbollah on another and ISIL on a third front. It is all about their mutual interests". When asked about Nusra's plans for post-war Syria, al-Sharaa initially stated that all factions in the country will be consulted before anyone thinks about "establishing an Islamic state," referring to Baghdadi. He also stated that Nusra would not target the country's Alawite minority despite its support for the Assad regime. He continued: "Our war is not a matter of revenge against the Alawites despite the fact that in Islam, they are considered to be heretics", he added. A commentary on this interview, however, states that al-Sharaa also added that Alawites would be left alone as long as they abandon elements of their faith which contradict Islam.

By October 2015, the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war prompted al-Sharaa to call for increased attacks on Assad strongholds in Alawite villages in retaliation for Russian airstrikes on Sunni areas, saying, "There is no choice but to escalate the battle and target Alawite towns and villages in Latakia." He also called on Muslims from the former Soviet Union to attack Russian civilians if Russia continued attacking Syrian civilians.

Split from al-Qaeda

The Russian entrance into the war led to military setbacks for the Syrian opposition, causing their foreign backers to exert a greater level of influence over them. In January 2016, al-Nusra held unity negotiations with other rebel groups in a bid to pre-empt any foreign attempt to co-opt these groups against it. When the talks collapsed due to concerns over al-Nusra's affiliation with al-Qaeda, the reformist wing of al-Nusra—which may have comprised a third of its overall membership—presented al-Sharaa with an ultimatum: to sever ties with al-Qaeda and merge with other rebel groups, or face a mass defection.

In July 2016, al-Sharaa convened al-Nusra's Shura Council twice to discuss the matter. The first council was inconclusive, while the second council settled on a "middle way" after several meetings: to break ties with al-Qaeda outside of Syria while retaining them inside Syria. As al-Zawahiri could not be contacted, several senior al-Qaeda leaders, including al-Zawahiri's deputy Abu Khayr al-Masri, approved the split contingent on al-Zawahiri later approving it himself. If he did not, the split would have to be reversed. Al-Sharaa agreed to these terms, which al-Nusra's Shura Council narrowly approved.

On 28 July 2016, al-Sharaa announced that al-Nusra had severed ties with al-Qaeda and rebranded as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS). He added that the new organisation would have "no affiliation to any external entity". Ayman al-Zawahiri was publicly supportive of the split, even though he had rejected the plan when it was presented to him. In protest, several leading al-Qaeda loyalists in al-Nusra, including Abu Julaybib, Abu Khadija al-Urduni and Abu Humam al-Shami, left JFS. In September 2016, al-Zawahiri authored a letter that harshly reprimanded al-Sharaa for his "act of disobedience", and admonished al-Masri for giving it his approval. Due to al-Zawahiri's rejection, al-Masri withdrew his support for the split. Al-Qaeda leaders Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah and Saif al-Adel also opposed the split, and al-Sharaa was expected to reverse his decision. However, he refused to do so.

Formation of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)

After forming JFS, al-Sharaa attempted to arrange a merger with Ahrar al-Sham. However, negotiations collapsed due to al-Sharaa supporting Jund al-Aqsa—a group that he had secretly established to discourage al-Nusra's foreign fighters from defecting to ISIS—in their conflict with Ahrar al-Sham. Ahrar al-Sham's leadership was also concerned that JFS continued to maintain ties with al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, al-Sharaa came under attack from al-Qaeda. Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi wrote a critique of the manhaj of JFS, and rumours circulated that al-Qaeda was preparing to launch a new affiliate in Syria named "Taliban al-Sham".

In a last-ditch bid to secure a merger, al-Sharaa led efforts to undermine Ahrar al-Sham's nationalist and anti-merger wing. When Ahrar al-Sham's leadership again refused to merge in December 2017, the pro-merge wing formed a breakaway "sub-faction" named Jaysh al-Ahrar. Shortly afterwards, JFS attacked Free Syrian Army (FSA) positions across Idlib and Aleppo, precipitating a conflict with Ahrar al-Sham. The conflict allowed JFS to defeat CIA-backed FSA groups, which it viewed as a "foreign conspiracy".

On 28 January 2017, al-Sharaa announced that JFS would dissolve and merge with Liwa al-Haqq, Jaysh al-Sunna, Ansar al-Din Front and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), gaining approximately 3,000 to 5,000 more fighters. In an effort to demonstrate the maturity of the new group, al-Sharaa arranged for Jaysh al-Ahrar's leader Abu Jaber Sheikh to serve as the nominal leader of HTS, although leadership was formally transferred back to al-Sharaa by December 2017. The remaining al-Qaeda loyalists in JFS viewed the formation of HTS as a definitive break from the organisation and refused to join. A number of al-Qaeda veterans publicly criticised al-Sharaa for his moves; Sami al-Oraydi condemned it as insubordination against Ayman al-Zawahiri. As a result, several were arrested by HTS towards the end of 2017, including al-Oraydi. After their release, some were involved in forming Hurras al-Din, the new Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda.

The U.S. government quickly rejected this rebranding, with the U.S. Embassy in Syria stating that "The core of HTS is Nusra, a designated terrorist organisation. This designation applies regardless of what name it uses or what groups merge into it." The Embassy characterized HTS's formation as an attempt to "hijack the Syrian revolution" rather than a move toward moderation. In May 2017 the US announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the identification or location of al-Sharaa, who the US State Department said was the leader of a Syrian terror group associated with al-Qaeda.

Under al-Sharaa's leadership, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham prioritized combating al-Qaeda and ISIS in an effort to improve its standing with Western nations. HTS successfully defeated ISIS, al-Qaeda, and most opposing forces in its territory, establishing control over most of Idlib Governorate, which it administered through the HTS-aligned Syrian Salvation Government.

Idlib governance

Main article: Syrian Salvation Government

Military situation before the opposition offensives in late 2024.
Territories held by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (white) and the Syrian government (red).

Under al-Sharaa's administration, Idlib had experienced significant economic development, becoming Syria's fastest-growing region despite being historically its poorest province. The area featured new luxury shopping malls, housing estates, and a round-the-clock electricity supply surpassing that of the capital, Damascus. Educational facilities included a university with 18,000 segregated students. However, his government faced criticism for its taxation policies, including customs taxes on goods from Turkey and checkpoint fees on smuggled goods, as well as the economic impact of the Turkish lira's depreciation, which was the main currency in the region.

In February 2023, Idlib Governorate, which was under the control of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), was one of the territories hardest hit by the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes. The Assad regime's policy of besieging northwestern Syria, blockading the supply of food, medicines and other humanitarian supplies, further deteriorated the crisis in Idlib. Al-Sharaa criticized aid agencies for neglecting Idlib and urged the international community to step up reconstruction and relief efforts, saying, "The United Nations needs to understand that it is required to help in a crisis." He also condemned the Assad regime and Russia for turning Syria "into an [ongoing] earthquake over the past 12 years." When asked about efforts to rebrand HTS, al-Sharaa said, "We have built a government that meets our people's needs, but much more is still required." Regarding the group's ability to support Idlib's displaced population, he admitted, "Our capabilities have reached their limits. We did all we could."

In March 2024, widespread protests erupted in Idlib Governorate against al-Sharaa's rule, with demonstrators adopting the slogan "Isqat al-Julani" ("Down with Julani"), reminiscent of earlier protests against the Assad regime. Hundreds of protesters marched through Idlib's cities and towns for over a month. The protests were triggered by multiple factors, including allegations of brutality, with reports of thousands of critics held in prisons, and economic grievances related to high taxes. In response, al-Sharaa made several concessions. He released hundreds of detainees from a previous summer's security operation, including his former deputy Abu Maria al-Qahtani, who had been arrested along with 300 others in a purge of his movement. He also promised local elections and increased employment opportunities for displaced persons, while warning protesters against what he termed treachery.

Turkey, which had previously helped stabilize the province by connecting it to its electricity grid and allowing building materials to enter freely, had grown concerned about al-Sharaa's expanding influence. In response, it reduced trade through its border crossings with Idlib, affecting HTS's revenue. Reports indicated that al-Sharaa had twice attempted to take over other Turkish-administered areas in northern Syria.

Fall of the Assad regime

Main article: Fall of the Assad regime

Syrian opposition offensives that overthrew Assad's regime in eleven days

In late November 2024, al-Sharaa led HTS in its Deterrence of Aggression offensive against the Ba'athist Syrian regime's armed forces. On 1 December 2024, the magazine Al-Usbu' reported rumours circulating in Arab and social media that al-Sharaa had been killed in a Russian airstrike. This was disproven when he visited the Citadel of Aleppo on 4 December 2024, his forces having captured it earlier that month. During the Battle of Aleppo, al-Sharaa instructed his forces not to "scare children" and HTS channels broadcast footage of Christians in the city continuing their everyday activities. Archbishop Afram Ma'lui stated that services would not be affected by the change in control. After regime forces were expelled from the city, al-Sharaa declared "diversity is a strength". HTS quickly established administrative bodies to restore basic services, including garbage collection, electricity, and water. The group's General Zakat Commission began distributing emergency bread supplies, while its General Organization for Grain Trade and Processing provided fuel to local bakeries. The Ministry of Development and Humanitarian Affairs reported delivering 65,000 loaves of bread under a campaign called "Together We Return". On 6 December, in a face-to-face interview with CNN, al-Sharaa declared that the offensive's goal was to remove Assad from power. Using his birth name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, he explicitly pledged to protect minority groups and outlined plans for establishing a government grounded in institutions and a "council chosen by the people". According to Dareen Khalifa of the International Crisis Group, al-Sharaa has considered dissolving HTS to strengthen civilian and military governance structures. He also expressed his intention to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homes.

During its invasion of Syria in December 2024, Israel took control of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) buffer area, a move that violated the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria.

De facto leader of Syria (2024–2025)

Ahmed al-Sharaa's de facto administration 8 December 2024 – 29 January 2025
Prime Minister	Mohammed al-Bashir
Cabinet	Provisional government (caretaker)
Party	Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham
Seat	People's Palace, Damascus

Formation of caretaker government

Main article: Syrian caretaker government

Al-Sharaa with Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, 30 December 2024

On 8 December 2024, then-Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali announced that the Syrian government would hand over power to a new elected government following the departure of Assad from Damascus, and al-Sharaa announced further that al-Jalali will "supervise state institutions until they are handed over". Al-Jalali later noted to Al Arabiya that he and al-Sharaa had been in contact prior to the announcement to discuss the handover. Al-Jalali announced in a social media video that he planned to stay in Damascus and cooperate with the Syrian people while expressing hope that Syria could become "a normal country" and begin diplomacy with other nations. The same day, al-Sharaa delivered a speech at Damascus's Umayyad Mosque, calling the fall of Assad's regime "a new chapter in the history of the region" and condemning Syria's role as "a playground for Iranian ambitions", characterized by sectarianism and corruption. In his victory speech following the fall of Damascus, he condemned Iran as a source of sectarianism and corruption, and framed the triumph as a turning point for Syria.

Al-Sharaa subsequently became the country's de facto leader as the head of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. On 9 December, HTS released a video of al-Sharaa, al-Jalali and Mohammed al-Bashir, the Prime Minister of the Syrian Salvation Government. On the same day, following the fall of the Assad regime, as the head of the de facto government in Idlib, al-Bashir was tasked with forming a transitional government after meeting with al-Sharaa and outgoing Prime Minister al-Jalali to coordinate the transfer of power. The next day, al-Bashir was officially appointed by the General Command of Syria as the prime minister of the caretaker government.

Post-Assad governance

On 12 December 2024, al-Sharaa met with Turkish officials, which marked the first diplomatic delegation to Syria since Assad's overthrow.

Al-Sharaa with Omani Ambassador-at-Large of the Foreign Ministry, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Hinai, 11 January 2025

Belarus, North Korea and the partially recognized state of Abkhazia evacuated their embassy personnel on 15 December. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to restore relations with Syria under the new administration, which had been severed in 2022 after the Assad regime recognized the quasi-states of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, which were annexed into Russia later that year.

The United States rescinded a seven-year-old $10 million "reward for justice" bounty on information leading to al-Sharaa's capture after he met with a U.S. delegation. The delegation was led by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara A. Leaf, along with Roger D. Carstens, presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and Daniel Rubinstein, the Special Advisor for Syrian Affairs. Since 2018, the United States has classified Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Sharaa, as a terrorist organization which previously had connections to al-Qaeda. This was the first formal US diplomatic presence in Syria in over 10 years. Leaf described the meeting as "productive", and later said she "found him to be a very methodical thinker with a strong degree of pragmatism". Leaf stated that this action was a political decision aimed at initiating dialogue with HTS, highlighting that al-Sharaa committed during the Damascus discussions not to permit ISIS or other terrorist groups to operate within Syria. In a 2025 interview with PBS Frontline, Leaf said that unlike Hafez al-Assad, al-Sharaa gave "no diatribes, no recitation of 40 years of history."

On 24 December, al-Sharaa announced the dissolution and merger of multiple rebel factions, including the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, into the interim government's Ministry of Defense. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were excluded from this consolidation due to ongoing conflicts with Turkish-backed rebels in northeastern Syria. The reorganization coincided with al-Sharaa's efforts to establish new state institutions, including law enforcement and security forces, amid reports of revenge killings and highway banditry. The administration established processing centers for former regime soldiers and initiated police force recruitment. In an interview with al-Arabiya on 29 December, al-Sharaa said that he expected the process of writing a new constitution of Syria to take two or three years, with elections expected after four years. On the same day, al-Sharaa announced the promotion of 42 individuals to the rank of colonel and five to the rank of brigadier general in the Syrian Army. Additionally, the Minister of Defence Murhaf Abu Qasra and Chief of the General Staff of the Syrian Armed Forces Ali Noureddine al-Naasan were both promoted to the rank of major general.

Al-Sharaa with European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib in Damascus, 17 January 2025

On 3 January 2025, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot became the first top diplomats from European Union member states to travel to Damascus since the fall of Assad, meeting with al-Sharaa to discuss a new political beginning between Europe and Syria.

On 21 January, al-Sharaa extended his congratulations to U.S. president Donald Trump on his inauguration, expressing confidence in Trump's ability to "bring peace to the Middle East." He highlighted the immense suffering Syria had endured over the past decade due to conflict and expressed optimism that, under Trump's leadership, stability could be restored to the region. On 29 January, a Russian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov visited Damascus to meet al-Sharaa, reaffirming Moscow's support for Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity following the fall of the Assad regime.

Presidency (2025–present)

Presidency of Ahmed al-Sharaa 29 January 2025 – present
Prime Minister	Mohammed al-Bashir (2024–2025)
Cabinet	Provisional government (caretaker, transitional)
Party	Independent
Appointed by	Syrian General Command
Seat	People's Palace, Damascus

Appointment

On 29 January 2025, during the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, Hassan Abdul Ghani, the spokesman of the rebels' Military Operations Command, announced the appointment of al-Sharaa as the president of Syria. Abdul Ghani stated that al-Sharaa would govern the country during the transitional period, assume the duties of the president, and represent the nation on the international stage.

Al-Sharaa with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, 12 July 2025

Al-Sharaa gave a brief speech during the conference, outlining the government's immediate priorities: filling the power vacuum, maintaining civil peace, building state institutions, developing the economy, and restoring Syria's international and regional standing. Other world leaders including Vladimir Putin, Justin Trudeau, Ilham Aliyev, and Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, congratulated al-Sharaa on his appointment as president.

Early actions

On 30 January 2025, a day after al-Sharaa's appointment as president, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the first head of state to visit Damascus since the fall of the Assad regime, discussing post-conflict reconstruction in Syria and other topics. On 8 February, a delegation from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, led by Director-General Fernando Arias, visited Damascus to meet with al-Sharaa for the first time since Assad's overthrow.

On 12 February, al-Sharaa held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in what was their first contact since Assad's overthrow. On the same day, al-Sharaa met with representatives of the Syrian National Coalition and the Syrian Negotiation Commission, including their respective presidents, Hadi al-Bahra and Bader Jamous, and it was announced that both organizations would dissolve within the new authorities.

On 17 February, al-Sharaa made his first official trip to the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, former strongholds of the ousted president Bashar al-Assad. On 21 February, he met with China's ambassador to Damascus, Shi Hongwei, the first official interaction between the two nations since Assad's overthrow. On 23 February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda, and the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Syrian territory south of Damascus. Hours later, Israel conducted a wave of airstrikes in Damascus and southern Syria. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz characterized al-Sharaa as "a jihadist terrorist from the Al-Qaeda school, committing atrocities against the Alawite civilian population."

On 18 April, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with al-Sharaa in Damascus, his first visit to Syria since 2009, where they discussed strengthening bilateral ties, regional developments including Gaza and the two-state solution, and agreed to form joint committees for cooperation. On 6 June, al-Sharaa visited Daraa Governorate for the first time since the fall of the Assad regime, coinciding with Eid al-Adha. The site of the first protests against Assad, Daraa is widely known as the "cradle of the revolution". On 27 August 2025, al-Sharaa inaugurated the 62nd Damascus International Fair, the first to be held since the fall of the Assad regime.

Domestic policy

Syrian Constitutional Declaration

Main article: Constitutional Declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic

On 29 January 2025, during the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, Hassan Abdul Ghani, the spokesman for the Military Operations Command, announced the repeal of the 2012 Ba'athist era constitution. On 31 January in his first address as president, al-Sharaa stated that he would hold a "National Dialogue Conference" and issue a "constitutional declaration" to serve as a "legal reference" in lieu of the suspended Assad-era constitution. On 2 March, al-Sharaa declared the establishment of a committee tasked with drafting a temporary constitutional declaration to guide the country's transition. On 13 March, al-Sharaa signed a constitutional declaration establishing a five-year transitional period. The Constitution sets a presidential system with the executive power at the hands of the president who appoints the ministers, and without the position of prime minister. This constitution enshrines Islamic law as the main derivation of jurisprudence while preserving freedoms of opinion and expression. The People's Assembly was established to serve as the parliament during the five-year transition, overseeing the drafting of a new permanent constitution.

Western Syria clashes

Main articles: March 2025 Western Syria clashes and 2025 massacres of Syrian Alawites

Protest in Cologne, Germany, against the Alawite massacres in Syria, March 2025

By 6 March 2025, clashes broke out in Western Syria between Assad loyalists and the armed forces of the Syrian caretaker government. It was the worst violence to have occurred since rebels toppled the Assad regime. In a speech addressing the Syrian people on 8 March, al-Sharaa stated: "Some remnants of the fallen regime attempted to test the new Syria they do not understand. Today, they see it as united, from east to west, from north to south." Condemning the attacks against police forces, hospitals and civilians by Assadist insurgents, al-Sharaa said: "You attacked all Syrians and made an unforgivable mistake. The riposte has come, and you have not been able to withstand it." He demanded that they surrender their weapons "before it's too late." He stated that he would "continue to work towards monopolizing weapons in the hands of the state, and there will be no more unregulated weapons."

Al-Sharaa urged fighters in the pro-government armed forces to "avoid any abuses" after reports emerged of massacres of Alawite civilians in Latakia. On 9 March, al-Sharaa announced the formation of an independent national committee comprising seven judges to investigate the events and violations in the Syrian coastal areas, emphasizing that the committee must submit its findings to the president within 30 days. He described the coastal violence as part of the "expected challenges." On 10 March, al-Sharaa condemned the recent mass killings of Alawites, emphasizing that such violence threatens national unity. He pledged to hold all perpetrators accountable, including those within his own ranks, stating, "We won't accept that any blood be shed unjustly, or goes without punishment or accountability, even among those closest to us." Al-Sharaa attributed the initial violence to pro-Assad groups backed by foreign entities but acknowledged subsequent revenge attacks. He reiterated his commitment to uphold the rule of law and prevent the nation from descending into sectarian conflict.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that 1,614 civilians were killed during the clashes by armed militias in the forces of the Syrian caretaker government between 6 March 2025 and 12 March 2025. On 12 March, the caretaker government announced the formation of a National Security Council to be chaired by al-Sharaa.

Syrian Democratic Forces peace deal

See also: SDF–Syrian transitional government clashes (2025–present)

United States Special Envoy Tom Barrack met with Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, May 2025. The US mediated 10 March agreement between the SDF and the Syrian government.

Military situation after the government offensives against the Syrian Democratic Forces in January 2026

On 10 March 2025, al-Sharaa signed an agreement with Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to integrate the SDF into state institutions and bring northeastern Syria under central government control. The agreement includes a ceasefire, the merging of military forces, and the transfer of border crossings, airports, and oil fields to the control of the Syrian state. It also recognizes the Kurdish community as an essential part of Syria, ensuring their constitutional rights and citizenship protections. The deadline for the merger has been set for the end of 2025. As of August 2025, negotiations on integration remained inconclusive.

As part of efforts towards reconciliation with the Kurdish population, on 16 January 2026, al-Sharaa issued a decree recognising Syrian Kurds as an essential part of the Syrian people and the country’s diverse national identity. The decree also recognized Kurdish as a national language and Nowruz as a national holiday. In an interview with Shams TV, al-Sharaa stated that the January 2026 military operation in Aleppo, particularly in Sheikh Maqsood, was aimed at ensuring security, stability, and safeguarding the country's economic interests. He described the operation as successful, highlighting that it was carried out with minimal costs and enabled the safe evacuation of civilians.

Following a swift government offensive during which the SDF lost control of large areas in the northeastern part of the country, al-Sharaa's government announced a new four-day ceasefire with the SDF on 20 January 2026.

Southern Syria clashes

Main articles: Southern Syria clashes (July 2025–present) and July 2025 Damascus airstrikes

In July 2025, there were armed clashes between Syrian Druze and Bedouin in Suwayda. The Syrian Army was deployed to restore order and clashed with some of the militants involved. The Israeli Air Force said it struck Syrian tanks in the area as a "warning" to the new Syrian government. On 16 July, the Israeli Defense Force bombed the entrance to the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus as a warning, citing security concerns over the Syrian army's deployment to Suwayda to restore order amid the July 2025 southern Syrian clashes. Heavier strikes targeted the Syrian military headquarters complex and severely damaged the main building; later strikes targeted the vicinity of the People's Palace in Damascus. On the evening of 16 July, the Syrian army began withdrawing from Suwayda. A statement by the Syrian Ministry of Defense said the withdrawal came after the army had completed operations against "outlaw groups" in the city. State news agency SANA reported the pullout was in line with the deal reached between the Syrian transitional government and Druze religious leaders. Airstrikes were also conducted by Israel on the same day on multiple targets across the Suwayda and Dorra governorates, including the al-Tha'lah Military Airbase and other military targets.

Shortly after the ceasefire was put in effect, al-Sharaa addressed Syria, stating the government's priority to protect Druze citizens as Israel continues its assaults on Syria. He said "We reject any attempt to drag you into hands [sic] of an external party... We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction." He further criticised Israel for its attacks on government and civilians and expressed gratitude for American, Turkish and Arab mediators for de-escalating the conflict, "The Israeli entity resorted to a wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities," he said, adding this led to a "significant complication of the situation and pushed matters to a large-scale escalation, except for the effective intervention of American, Arab, and Turkish mediation, which saved the region from an unknown fate".

Crackdowns on corruption

On 20 August 2025, al-Sharaa rebuked over 100 loyalists over corruption and arriving in luxury vehicles. On 6 October 2025, al-Sharaa shut down a business office owned by one of his brothers, Jamal al-Sharaa, as part of an anti-corruption crackdown.

Administration and cabinet

Main article: Syrian transitional government

On 29 March 2025, al-Sharaa announced the formation of the Syrian transitional government during a ceremony at the People's Palace in Damascus. During the event, the newly appointed ministers took their oaths and presented their plans. It replaced the Syrian caretaker government established after the fall of the Assad regime. Four of the new ministers belonged to minorities: Yaarub Bader, an Alawite; Amjad Badr, a Druze; Hind Kabawat, a Christian; and Mohammad Abdul Rahman Tarkou, a Kurd. The government also included figures from different groups of the former Syrian opposition. During the civil war, Mohammed Abu al-Khair Shukri, the new Minister of Endowments, was a member of the Syrian National Coalition; Raed al-Saleh, the new Minister of Disaster Management and Emergency Response, was the Director of the White Helmets; and Hind Kabawat served as deputy head of the Syrian Negotiation Commission in Geneva. The new government was described by some observers as technocratic, with "ministers chosen according to their competences" according to al-Sharaa.

The Reuters investigation revealed that Hazem al‑Sharaa was supervising a covert economic committee tasked with restructuring Syria's economy following the fall of Ba'athist regime. The economy had been severely damaged by years of corruption and international sanctions. The committee operated under pseudonyms and was reported to be led by Hazem al‑Sharaa alongside an Australian businessman operating under the alias "Abu Mariam al‑Australi". The latter was identified as Abraham Succarieh, an Australian of Lebanese descent who had been sanctioned by Australian authorities for alleged terrorism financing.

According to Reuters, the committee discreetly took control of or negotiated private settlements worth approximately US $1.6 billion in assets owned by Assad-era businessmen, including stakes in major firms such as the country's leading telecom operator. To avoid judicial disruption and to preserve economic continuity, the committee reportedly offered immunity in exchange for cash payments and corporate control, a strategy criticized for effectively replacing one oligarchy with another. Though not holding any formal public office related to the restructuring effort, Hazem al‑Sharaa is said to have overseen the operation. He was also reported to be poised to manage a newly established sovereign wealth fund created by Ahmed al‑Sharaa in early July 2025, which would report directly to the Syrian presidency.

Foreign relations

See also: List of international presidential trips made by Ahmed al-Sharaa

Al-Sharaa with US President Donald Trump and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 14 May 2025

Al-Sharaa made it clear that he valued the ethnic and religious diversity of Syria and that he had moderated his domestic and foreign policy views.

After taking office as president, al-Sharaa made a trip abroad, visiting Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, Qatar, Turkey, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. He attended the emergency summit of the Arab League, the fourth Antalya Diplomacy Forum, and the 2025 Arab–Islamic extraordinary summit.

On 7 May 2025, he met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. It was his first official visit to a Western country since becoming president of Syria. On 14 May, he met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia, the first meeting between American and Syrian presidents since Bill Clinton and Hafez al-Assad convened at Geneva in 2000, and was urged by him to join the Abraham Accords. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took part in the meeting.

On 24 September, he addressed the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, becoming the first Syrian leader to do so since Nureddin al-Atassi in 1967. He also met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after which the latter announced the restoration of diplomatic relations between their countries that had been severed following the Assad regime's decision to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics in June 2022.

Al-Sharaa with Russian president Vladimir Putin, 15 October 2025

On 15 October, he met President Vladimir Putin in Russia, declaring Syria's intention to "redefine" its relations with Russia while reaffirming existing agreements, meanwhile Putin praised Syria's recent elections and expressed support for continued cooperation. During the meeting with Putin, al-Sharaa requested the extradition of Bashar al-Assad to Syria.

On 29 October, he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Kosovan President Vjosa Osmani in Saudi Arabia, during which Syria officially recognized the Republic of Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state, following a trilateral meeting in Riyadh that included officials from Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Kosovo.

Al-Sharaa with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 6 November 2025

In November 2025, al-Sharaa arrived in Brazil to attend the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, marking the first time a Syrian president has participated in the annual climate summit since its establishment in 1995. On 10 November, al-Sharaa met U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, marking the first visit by a Syrian president to the White House since Syria gained independence in 1946. Speaking to reporters, Trump praised Sharaa as a "strong leader" and voiced confidence in him. "We'll do everything we can to make Syria successful," he said.

Promising "continued sanctions relief," the Treasury Department announced a new order to replace its 23 May waiver on enforcement of the 2019 Caesar Act, which imposed sweeping sanctions over human rights abuses under Assad.

On 4 December, al-Sharaa met with the UN Security Council delegation and several UN officials at the People's Palace in Damascus, joined by a number of Syrian ministers. It marked the delegation's first-ever visit to Syria since the Council was established in 1945.

Easing sanctions in Syria

See also: International sanctions against Syria

Since 2011, several countries and international bodies have imposed sanctions on Syria under Bashar al-Assad's rule, mainly due to the regime's violent crackdown on civilians during the civil war. In an interview with The New York Times in April 2025, al-Sharaa stated that the sanctions should be permanently lifted, as they were imposed on the Assad regime. He noted that the sanctions were damaging his government and slowing economic recovery.

The following month, Trump and the European Union communicated intentions to relax sanctions against Syria. On 23 May, the Trump administration lifted a wide range of sanctions. On 30 June, Trump signed an executive order lifting sanctions imposed by the United States against Syria except those linked to the Assad family and their associates and related institutions.

In November 2025, with the support of the United States and other countries, the UN Security Council removed him from the sanctions list of the ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee. On 7 November, the United States removed al-Sharaa from its Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) sanctions list.

Political positions

Views on Bashar al-Assad's handover to Syria

See also: Proposed handover of Bashar al-Assad to Syria

Al-Sharaa in Moscow, Russia, October 2025

In an interview with The New York Times in April 2025, al-Sharaa said that Syrian officials requested Russia to extradite Assad as a condition for allowing their military presence in Syria, but Russia refused. In a September 2025 interview with 60 Minutes, al-Sharaa said he still intended to pursue justice against Bashar al-Assad through legal means.

In a Fox News interview on 10 November 2025, al-Sharaa said that Russia had a different view on sending wanted individuals back to Syria, but he stressed that justice must be carried out through a transitional justice committee to ensure accountability for all perpetrators, including Assad. In a November 2025 interview with The Washington Post, al-Sharaa said that the issue of Bashar al-Assad remained sensitive for Russia, with Syria's relationship with Moscow still in its early stages and emphasized that "Syria will preserve its right to demand Assad's trial."

Views on Syria

In an interview with Al Arabiya, al-Sharaa spoke about his ambitions for Syria's economic development. Al-Sharaa said that Syria needs "experts who know the country's assets and try to benefit from all the experiences of the world, so as to come up with something that suits the nature of the society." He said that after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, there are "major investment and economic opportunities", and that Saudi Arabia has a very large role in Syria's economic development. He also pointed to a major investment opportunity for all neighbouring countries that can implement joint economic projects with the new Syrian administration. Regarding the sanctions imposed on Syria, al-Sharaa said he had hoped the incoming U.S. administration, led by then-president-elect Donald Trump, would lift them. He said one of his top priorities is to rebuild the economy by issuing a new currency after the value of the current currency is stabilised.

On 14 December, al-Sharaa stressed in his statements after the fall of the Assad regime that the next phase will be an opportunity to serve the Syrians and build the future. He explained that there is no justification for any foreign intervention after the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria, considering that the "Iranian project" was harmful, and that the victory in Syria is a victory over this project. He also stressed that what happened in Syria was not a coincidence but the result of long preparations. He stated that Russia had become frustrated with the Assad regime and that the change in leadership represented an opportunity for Russia to build a new relationship with Syria. Regarding the Syrian leadership, he pointed out the need to move away from the mentality of revolution and move towards a state of law and institutions. Al-Sharaa stated to Al Jazeera Arabic that the choices of governance will be discussed among a group of experts; then, public elections would be held to make the final choice.

In an interview with the BBC, al-Sharaa discussed his plans and said that Syria is not like the Taliban. He said that their way of leading the country is different because Afghanistan has a tribal system, while the people and way of thinking in Syria are not the same. He also stated that the Syrian government will follow its own history and culture in its governance.

In his first interview as president on 9 February 2025, al-Sharaa told The Economist that he opposed a federal system in Syria. He also mentioned that Turkey was planning a full-scale operation in the north against Kurdish forces but had asked them to wait to allow for negotiations. In response to a question about whether sharia law could be implemented, he stated, "That decision rests with the experts. If they approve it, my duty is to enforce it; if they reject it, my duty is to uphold their decision as well." When asked if Syria would become a democracy, he responded, "In our region, there are various definitions of democracy. If democracy means that the people decide who will rule them and who represents them in parliament, then yes, Syria is moving in that direction."

In an interview with The New York Times in April 2025, al-Sharaa stated that his government was considering granting citizenship to foreign fighters who had lived in Syria for many years and supported the revolution. Furthermore, he said that his government was negotiating with Turkey and Russia regarding their military presence in Syria and suggested that both countries might eventually provide military support to the Syrian government.

On 27 May 2025, during the "Aleppo, the Key to Victory" event celebrating the Syrian revolution and the liberation of Aleppo, al-Sharaa exhorted the Syrian people to help reconstruct the country: "Our war against tyrants has ended, and our battle against poverty has begun."

In a September 2025 interview with 60 Minutes, al-Sharaa said elections would be held once Syria's infrastructure and citizens' records are restored. He stated that he wants Syria to be a place where every person can vote. He added that rebuilding Syria is a top state priority and emphasized the need for international support. He said Syria has reshaped its political identity after years of isolation and is now pursuing balanced relations with the West, the U.S., and regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, adding that its calm and stable ties with Russia and China, built on shared strategic interests, align rather than conflict with its relations with Western nations.

In a November 2025 interview with The Washington Post, al-Sharaa said Syria is emerging from a long war and decades of dictatorship and is in a transitional phase. He compared the country's rebuilding to the long recovery after the U.S. Civil War. He also said that some groups push their own interests and seek autonomy by claiming threats to their sect or creed, adding, "In Syria, we have been living in coexistence with different groups and different religious communities for 1,400 years. We're still here, and we still have that diversity."

On 6 December 2025, at the Doha Forum, al-Sharaa told Christiane Amanpour, CNN's Chief International Anchor, that Syria was moving towards stability and economic recovery following the revolution and the transition to a new system of governance. He noted that his government was working with the United States to lift the Caesar Act and explained that the national dialogue conference held after the liberation had resulted in a temporary constitutional declaration granting him a five-year mandate to pass new laws and draft a new constitution ahead of elections scheduled in four years. He also spoke about civil rights, stating that Syria had closed oppressive prisons such as Sednaya Prison and was committed to women's empowerment, with women fully participating in society, government, and the People's Assembly. He spoke about engaging with Alawites, Druze, and other minority communities, stressing that every sector of Syrian society had suffered under the Assad regime and that all of them took part in the revolution that brought it down. Al-Sharaa also highlighted the need to uphold the rule of law in Syria, saying it is "the way to guarantee everybody's rights, including the rights of all minorities".

On 10 January 2026, al-Sharaa said in an interview with Shams TV that the government is engaging with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) through dialogue to avoid bloodshed. He said the 10 March agreement protects Kurdish rights and culture, strengthens state authority across Syria, and has wide regional and international support. Al-Sharaa stressed that the Kurdish community should be protected through integration into the Syrian state, not through armed groups, with rights guaranteed by the constitution and participation based on ability. He reaffirmed Syria’s commitment to the agreement and called on the SDF to integrate, saying that unity and the rule of law are essential for Syria’s stability. Al-Sharaa said that in their first meeting, held less than two months after his arrival in Damascus, he told Mazloum Abdi that if the goal was to secure Kurdish rights, there was no need for bloodshed, as those rights would be guaranteed by the constitution. He said that North and East Syria holds most of Syria’s main resources, including oil, gas, water, agriculture, and energy. He added that SDF control has blocked the state from accessing these resources, damaging the economy and slowing reconstruction, despite the urgent need to improve living conditions.

Views on Israel and Gaza

See also: Israeli invasion of Syria (2024–present)

Al-Sharaa with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and U.S. President Donald Trump, 10 November 2025.

Al-Sharaa and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, 7 November 2025

Al-Sharaa has stated that he believes in a commitment to defending the Palestinians, and that the displacement of his family from the Golan Heights as well as the Second Intifada in 2000 had a strong impact on his life choices. During a speech to exhort HTS fighters in January 2018, he declared: "If Allah wills it, we will reach not only Damascus, but Jerusalem awaits us as well."

In an interview with Syria TV regarding the ongoing Israeli invasion of Syria, al-Sharaa said that after the fall of the Assad regime, Israel no longer has "any excuses" for attacking Syrian territory. He emphasized that diplomacy was the only way to ensure security and cautioned against "ill-considered military adventures". Al-Sharaa reportedly told a group of journalists that HTS would continue to uphold the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement that ended the Yom Kippur War between Syria and Israel. In an interview with The New York Times in December 2024, he reaffirmed Syria's commitment to the Agreement. He stated, "Israel intended to enter Syria under the pretext of the Iranian presence, and its pretext has now ended."

On 14 December 2024, al-Sharaa clarified that his administration was not interested in engaging in a new conflict with Israel, emphasizing that Syria's priority was rebuilding after years of war. He noted that the country's deteriorating situation did not permit further hostilities and that maintaining state stability was paramount. Al-Sharaa stressed that diplomatic solutions were the only viable path to ensuring security and long-term stability in the region.

On 11 February 2025, al-Sharaa stated in an interview with The Rest Is Politics that Trump's proposed United States takeover of the Gaza Strip would not succeed, asserting that no power can drive people from their land. He noted that many countries had tried and failed, especially during the recent war in Gaza. His statement came after a joint press conference in which Trump declared that the U.S. would "take over the Gaza Strip; we'll own it."

On 4 March 2025, at the extraordinary Arab League summit on Gaza, al-Sharaa condemned calls for the forced displacement of Palestinians, calling them a threat to all Arabs. On 26 August 2025, al-Sharaa said his country would not join the Abraham Accords, stressing that its dispute with Israel is very different from the conflicts experienced by other Arab nations.

"Israel occupied the Golan Heights in order to protect Israel, and now they are imposing conditions in the south of Syria in order to protect the Golan Heights. So after a few years, maybe they will occupy the center of Syria in order to protect the south of Syria. They will reach Munich on that pathway[...]"

— Ahmed al-Sharaa (11 November 2025)

In a September 2025 interview with 60 Minutes, al-Sharaa said Syria poses no threat and called Israeli strikes on the People's palace "a declaration of war". He warned that Israel's provocations could drag Syria into war and push U.S. allies to seek alternatives. He urged Israel to withdraw from areas seized after 8 December 2024, and said Syria has made no provocations or threats toward Israel. He added that "the current Israeli government is extremist and guided by expansionist doctrines," believing that "Israel has the right to establish a larger state than it is now and seeks to expand into Gaza and the West Bank, then north and south." He also said Israel refuses to allow the return of UN forces to the 1974 disengagement lines and is trying to impose "a new format for the security arrangement." He emphasized that Syria seeks a peaceful solution protecting its territorial integrity and rightful claim to the occupied Golan heights, warning that Israel's expansionist ambitions could impact Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt, and reshape regional alliances.

In a Fox News interview on 10 November 2025, al-Sharaa said that Syria's situation is different from other signatories because it borders Israel, which has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967. He added that the Trump administration could help Syria make a security agreement with Israel or return to the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement. In a November 2025 Washington Post interview, al-Sharaa said that Syria is negotiating directly with Israel and has made good progress, but a final agreement requires Israel to return to its pre–8 December borders. He added that the United States and many other international parties, including Trump, support Syria's position while working to reach a solution quickly.

On 6 December 2025, al-Sharaa told the Doha Forum that any deal with Israel must protect Syria's interests. He accused Israel of using its situation to avoid responsibility for the Gaza massacres and said Syria is working with major powers to pressure Israel to withdraw from areas taken after 8 December 2024. He stressed the need for Israel to adhere to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and added that the demand for a demilitarized zone raises many questions, including who would protect it if the Syrian army is not allowed to be present. He also confirmed that there are talks with Israel involving the United States.

Views on Iran

Since the fall of the Assad regime, Ahmed al-Sharaa has made several statements regarding Iran's involvement in Syria. For many years, Syria and Iran maintained a strategic alliance, Damascus serving as a key component of the 'Axis of Resistance'. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat published 20 December 2024, al-Sharaa asserted that under Bashar al-Assad, Syria became a platform for Iran to exert influence over major Arab capitals, expand conflicts, and destabilize Gulf nations through activities such as drug trafficking, including the distribution of Captagon. He described Iran's regional ambitions as detrimental and framed the developments in Syria as a setback for Iran's influence in the region. "What we have done and achieved with the least possible damage and losses," he stated, adding that "the Iranian project in the region has been set back 40 years." In February 2025, al-Sharaa condemned Iran and its Axis of Resistance as a "strategic threat to the entire region".

Honors

In 2025, Time 100 listed him as one of the world's most influential people, and Agence France-Presse noted that he made global headlines that year. In the same year, The Economist awarded its country of the year title to Syria, under al-Sharaa's rule, noting that he had generated a "series of positive surprises".

Personal life

Not much is known about al-Sharaa's personal life, which he is careful not to share with the media. In 2012, Time reported that in one of the meetings of prominent armed groups attended by the leaders of Ahrar al-Sham, Suqour al-Sham, Liwa al-Islam, and other brigades, al-Sharaa wore a mask, refusing to reveal his identity, and was introduced to the attendees by al-Nusra Front's emirs in Aleppo and Idlib.

Al-Sharaa met his wife Latifa al-Droubi while they were both studying at Damascus University. They were married in 2012 and have three children. Al-Sharaa plays chess, basketball, pool, and goes horse riding, while he reportedly played football in his childhood. In a November 2025 interview with The Washington Post, al-Sharaa said he admired Michael Jordan and the National Basketball Association, preferred baseball to football, and was skilled at playing pool.

Assassination attempts and death threats

The U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, warned of a possible assassination attempt against al-Sharaa due to his efforts to build ties with the West and promote inclusive governance. On 12 June 2025, L'Orient–Le Jour reported that al-Sharaa escaped two assassination attempts by jihadist groups for rejecting their ideology. On 27 June 2025, al-Sharaa was the target of a Hezbollah and ISIS-backed assassination attempt. It was planned to be carried out in the Daraa Governorate, but was foiled before it could be executed. However, the government denied reports of the assassination that was planned to be carried out in Daraa. On 16 July 2025, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's Minister of National Security, publicly urged for al-Sharaa's assassination, referring to al-Sharaa as the "head of the snake" and stating that "the only thing that can be done is to eliminate al-Julani."

On 10 November 2025, Syria thwarted two attempts on al-Sharaa's life by ISIS.

On 5 January 2026, the Israel Defense Forces claimed that Iran, along with "hostile elements", was planning to assassinate al-Sharaa.

Documentary

On 1 June 2021, PBS Frontline released a documentary, The Jihadist, investigating al-Sharaa's past in the context of the ongoing Syrian civil war. In the interview, reflecting on his past affiliation with al-Qaeda, on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and the Palestinian cause, al-Sharaa commented in the interview:

The history of the region and what it went through over the past 20 or 30 years needs to be taken into consideration... We are talking about a region ruled by tyrants, by people who rule with iron fists and their security apparatuses. At the same time, this region is surrounded by numerous conflicts and wars... We can't take a segment of this history and say so-and-so joined Al Qaeda. There are thousands of people who joined Al Qaeda, but let us ask what was the reason behind these people joining Al Qaeda? That's the question. Are the U.S. policies after World War II toward the region partially responsibility for driving people towards Al Qaeda organization? And are the European policies in the region responsible for the reactions of people who sympathize with the Palestinian cause or with the way the Zionist regime deals with the Palestinians?... Are the broken and oppressed peoples who had to endure what happened in Iraq, for example, or in Afghanistan, are they responsible?... Our involvement with Al Qaeda in the past was an era, and it ended, and even at that time when we were with Al Qaeda, we were against external attacks, and it's completely against our policies to carry out external operations from Syria to target European or American people. This was not part of our calculations at all, and we did not do it at all.

Bibliography

On Salafi jihadist online forums, there are essays and articles attributed to al-Sharaa under the pseudonym "Abdullah Bin Muhammad", including The Strategy of the Regional War.

See also

• Abd al-Rahman al-Maghribi – Moroccan al-Qaeda memberPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Abu Jaber Sheikh – Syrian rebel commander
• Ali Keda – Assistant Secretary-General of the Presidency of Syria for Cabinet Affairs since 2025
• Riad al-Asaad – Syrian military officer and politician (born 1961)
• Saif al-Adel – De facto leader of al-Qaeda since 2022

References

Bibliography

• Zelin, Aaron Y. (2022). The Age of Political Jihadism: A Study of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (PDF). The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. ISBN 9798985447446.

External links

• Abu Muhammad al-Golani—Profile in Counter Extremism Project
• "Syria After Assad". Frontline. Season 43. Episode 19. 1 July 2025. PBS. WGBH. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
• Syria After Assad, Reuters, 2025
• Ahmed al-Sharaa on Twitter