The United States introduced the resolution to lift sanctions on Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab, both members of jihadist rebel groups that fought against ousted dictator Bashar Assad during the over-decade-long civil war in the country. The HTS militia ended an extended lull in the war where Assad had appeared to cement his stranglehold on the country in November 2024, seizing control of the city of Aleppo. By December 7, Assad was on a plane to exile in Moscow.
Sharaa, the leader of HTS, was known by the nom de guerre “Abu Mohammed al-Jolani” and the time. He assumed the presidency of the country under his given name and began adopting Western fashion and attending global finance and investment conferences shortly after his ascent to the presidency, seeking funding for the reconstruction of the country. He has not abandoned his ambition to establish an Islamist state, however, and Syria adopted an Islamist constitution in March — shortly after a massacre of Alawite Shia civilians by elements associated with the new regime.
He is currently in Belém, Brazil, attending the United Nation’s climate alarmism summit COP30. The resolution to lift sanctions on Sharaa and Khattab was welcomed warmly in the Security Council. None of the 15 members of the council voted against it, and only China abstained, offering grumblings that America allegedly “did not fully heed the views of all members and forced the Council to take action even when there were huge differences among Council members in an attempt to serve its own political agenda.” (Read More)
