In an exclusive interview with The Times on Monday, Syria’s new counter-revolutionary leader Mohammed al-Jolani, now preferring to go by his birth name Ahmed al-Sharaa, pledged that he would not allow the country to be used as a launchpad for attacks “against ‘Israel’ or any other state,” in a new step of collusion with colonialism in the region.
Al-Sharaa called on the Zionist regime to halt its airstrikes and withdraw from Syrian territory it occupied following Assad’s departure.
“‘Israels’ justification was the presence of Hezbollah and Iranian militias, so that justification is gone,” he said. “We are committed to the 1974 agreement and we are prepared to return the UN [monitors].”
He added, “We do not want any conflict whether with ‘Israel’ or anyone else and we will not let Syria be used as a launchpad for attacks. The Syrian people need a break, and the strikes must end and Israel has to pull back to its previous positions.”
Calls to Lift Sanctions
Sharaa urged the West to lift sanctions imposed during Assad’s tenure, arguing that these restrictions hinder Syria’s recovery and were no longer justified.
“Countries must now lift this designation. Syria is very important geostrategically. They should lift all restrictions, which were imposed on the flogger and the victim — the flogger is gone now. This issue is not up for negotiation.”
HTS, which is an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Syria, remains designated as a terrorist organization by the US, UK, and other countries. Sharaa, himself, was once a member of ISIS and al-Qaeda. According to The Times, Al-Sharaa dismissed the designation, stating, “We did military activities,” but called the label “a political designation” that was more applicable to the Assad government.
Al-Sharaa currently has a $10 million bounty on his head from the US, but he said he did not care about his personal designation.