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Syria: Rami Makhlouf Attacks War Profiteers

A screenshot of Rami Makhlouf from his Facebook page (Reuters)
A screenshot of Rami Makhlouf from his Facebook page (Reuters)
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Syria: Rami Makhlouf Attacks War Profiteers

A screenshot of Rami Makhlouf from his Facebook page (Reuters)
A screenshot of Rami Makhlouf from his Facebook page (Reuters)

Syrian businessman and cousin of President Bashar al-Assad Rami Makhlouf attacked war profiteers, saying they are devising “diabolical plans” to take over everything in Syria.

Makhlouf plans to attend the meeting to elect the new board of directors of Syriatel Mobile Telecom, of which he owned most of the shares. He indicated that he would publish a new video if he wasn’t arrested after attending the meeting.

In the newly released video on his Facebook page, Makhlouf explained that the judicial custody currently controlling Syriatel wants to sue the former management of the company and elect a new board of directors.

Makhlouf accused “war profiteers” who took control over the mobile company of “stealing subscribers' money”, adding that Syriatel employees were fired because they belong to or have ties with the opposition. A number of employees were also let go because they are from areas that aren't under the regime’s control, according to Makhlouf.

The video came in response to released information that Syriatel increased its revenues after Rami Makhlouf was dismissed.

The company announced its revenues for the first five months of 2021 which amounted to about 145 billion, compared to 77 billion in previous years.

Makhlouf said that the new management believes this to be “a matter of returning the people’s looted money,” noting that the increase in revenues happens in two ways, either through offers or raising prices, neither of which happened during the last period.

He indicated that only experts could reveal how people's money was looted, however, anyone who audits Syriatel will be arrested.

Makhlouf also hinted at Iran's unwillingness to contribute to the financing of the third telecom operator in Syria, which the Ministry of Communications intends to launch.

The Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection announced at the end of May its decision to ratify the statute of Wafa Telecom to be the third operator of mobile phones in Syria, but the Ministry of Communications quickly denied that it had obtained the license.

Cellular communications in Syria are monopolized by the two companies Syriatel, which was owned by Makhlouf, and MTN, which has joint Lebanese and Syrian owners.

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Syria's New Foreign Minister to Appear at the UN in His First US Visit

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, left, and Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi attend a round table meeting at the 9th international conference in support of Syria at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, left, and Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi attend a round table meeting at the 9th international conference in support of Syria at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
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Syria's New Foreign Minister to Appear at the UN in His First US Visit

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, left, and Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi attend a round table meeting at the 9th international conference in support of Syria at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, left, and Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi attend a round table meeting at the 9th international conference in support of Syria at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani was set to raise his country’s new flag at the United Nations headquarters in New York Friday and to attend a UN Security Council briefing, the first public appearance by a high-ranking Syrian government official in the United States since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning opposition offensive in December.

The three-starred flag that had previously been used by opposition groups has replaced the two-starred flag of the Assad era as the country's official emblem, the Associated Press said.

The new authorities in Damascus have been courting Washington in hopes of receiving relief from harsh sanctions that were imposed by the US and its allies in the wake of Assad’s brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011 that spiraled into a civil war.

A delegation of Syrian officials traveled to the United States this week to attend World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington and UN meetings in New York. It was unclear if Trump administration officials would meet with al-Shibani during the visit.

The Trump administration has yet to officially recognize the current Syrian government, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led the offensive that toppled Assad. Washington has also so far left the sanctions in place, although it has provided temporary relief to some restrictions. The opposition group al-Sharaa led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, remains a US-designated terrorist organization.

Two Republican members of the US Congress, Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana and Rep. Cory Mills of Florida, arrived in Damascus last week on an unofficial visit organized by a Syrian-American nonprofit and met with al-Sharaa and other government officials.

Mills told The Associated Press before meeting with al-Sharaa that “ultimately, it’s going to be the president’s decision” to lift sanctions or not, although he said that “Congress can advise.”

Mills later told Bloomberg News that he had discussed the US conditions for sanctions relief with al-Sharaa, including ensuring the destruction of chemical weapons left over from the Assad era, coordinating on counter-terrorism, making a plan to deal with foreign militants who fought alongside the armed opposition to Assad, and providing assurances to Israel that Syria would not pose a threat.

He also said that al-Sharaa had said Syria could normalize relations with Israel “under the right conditions,” without specifying what those conditions are.

Other Western countries have warmed up to the new Syrian authorities more quickly. The British government on Thursday lifted sanctions against a dozen Syrian entities, including government departments and media outlets, and the European Union has begun to roll back its sanctions.