The Syrian Decisive Moment… Ahmad al-Sharaa’s Father Reveals the Behind-the-Scenes Story of His Son’s Rise and the Liberation of Damascus

ALDAR / Iman Alaoui

In a rare conversation, Hussein al-Sharaa, father of the Syrian president, shed light on experiences and secrets that revealed a hidden side of the ongoing transformations in Syria. He began by stressing that normalization with Israel “is not part of the Syrian vocabulary,” affirming that this stance is principled and non-negotiable.

Al-Sharaa disclosed his family’s Hashemite lineage tracing back to the Prophet Muhammad, in an attempt to highlight the historical roots that grant the family symbolic legitimacy among wide segments of Syrians. He also spoke of his son’s patience, explaining how he waited an entire decade before launching the decisive offensive, despite repeated pressures from citizens who urged him to hasten the confrontation.

He expressed admiration for the late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, considering the unity between Syria and Egypt a strategic option that must one day be revived.

Ahmad al-Sharaa’s father admitted that the victory achieved in Damascus exceeded all expectations, even those of regional and international powers. Turkey, for instance, did not anticipate the military operations would advance beyond Aleppo and had banked on limited understandings with al-Joulani, while he himself advised his son to remain within Idlib out of fear of a harsh reaction from Russia and Iran.

Nevertheless, events unfolded in a completely different direction, as Syrian forces under the leadership of al-Sharaa’s son managed to overturn the balance of power and bring Damascus back to the forefront, in a military and political shift that unsettled adversaries both at home and abroad.