What message did the Syrian opposition leader send to Iran, the US and Israel?
In a speech at the sacred shrine, the leader of Syria's armed opposition sent a message to Iran, the United States and Israel.
After years of low visibility, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani commanded a lightning, shocking offensive that led to the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria after more than 13 years of brutal civil war.
Al-Golani has spent years rebuilding his public image, breaking with his long-standing ties to al-Qaeda and portraying himself as an advocate of pluralism and tolerance. When he entered Damascus on December 8, after a series of victories, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani called himself by his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa.
It is no surprise that the Islamist opposition has chosen Damascus’s sacred Umayyad Mosque – not a television studio, nor a presidential palace, but a place of religious significance that, at 1,300 years old, is one of the world’s oldest mosques – to deliver its message.
It was a message to all those who brought Abu Mohammad al-Jolani to power and propelled Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters at astonishing speed across Syria to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
Addressing the people of Syria, al-Jolani’s message of victory seemed intended to break down old religious boundaries. “This victory marks a new chapter in the history of the region, a history fraught with dangers that saw Syria become a playground for Iranian ambitions, spreading sectarianism, and fomenting corruption,” he said.
With that, al-Jolani sent a clear message to the Tehran regime that its interference was over, its easy access by land to its Hezbollah proxy in Lebanon was over, its support for Hezbollah in Syria was over, and its weapons cache was gone.
Additionally, an important message that al-Jolani directed to the United States and Israel, a message that al-Jolani believes is being heard in Tel Aviv and Washington, where he is considered a member of a banned terrorist organization with a $10 million bounty on his life.
Jolani's message is also tailored to the regional powers he will need to “keep on his toes.”
“Syria is being cleansed,” Mr Jolani said, reportedly referring to Syria’s reputation in the region as a drug-ridden state, that Syria under Mr Assad “has become the world’s leading supplier”, and crime across the region.
In 2011, after five years in a US-run prison in Iraq, al-Jolani became a member of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), returning to Syria with the mission of spreading the extremist movement globally.
With this mission, al-Jolani founded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist militant group initially designated a terrorist organization by the United States and Russia because of its links to both IS and al-Qaeda. He also began using the alias Abu Mohammed al-Jolani instead of his real name.
In 2012, HTS cut ties with IS, then broke with al-Qaeda in 2016 and turned to confront both organizations in bloody campaigns.
HTS joined a Türkiye-backed rebel alliance, becoming one of the largest armed groups in Syria, with the goal of fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
