Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president, will not attend an upcoming Arab League Summit in Baghdad, according to reports in Syrian state media.
In his stead, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani will lead the Syrian delegation at the May 17 summit, Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya television channel reported on May 12.
The move comes after Iraqi Shiite politicians and protesters objected to al-Sharaa’s participation, citing his prior affiliation with Sunni extremist groups that had proliferated in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Along with being Syria’s interim president, al-Sharaa leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an internationally designated terrorist group with previous ties to al-Qaeda.
Late last year, HTS spearheaded a Turkey-backed rebel offensive that succeeded in toppling the long-ruling regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
One month after Assad’s ouster, rebel leaders aligned with HTS appointed al-Sharaa as Syria’s interim president for an unspecified “transitional phase.”
Since then, al-Sharaa has visited—and received the endorsement of—several regional states, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.
In mid-April, he visited Qatar, where he met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, a long-time supporter of HTS, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed al-Sudani.
At the meeting, al-Sudani urged al-Sharaa to ensure the safety of Syrian minority groups that have faced mounting sectarian violence since Assad’s overthrow.
He also called on Damascus to take steps against the ISIS terrorist network, which is said to still have a presence in both Iraq and Syria.
While in Qatar, al-Sudani also invited al-Sharaa to attend this week’s scheduled Arab League summit in Baghdad.
The invitation drew criticism from Iraqi Shiite factions who accuse al-Sharaa of having ordered attacks on Shiite targets during his prior affiliation with al-Qaeda in Iraq.
At one point, 57 Shiite lawmakers in Iraq’s 329-seat parliament petitioned al-Sudani to withdraw the invitation and bar al-Sharaa from attending the summit.
Protests in Basra
On May 13, Rudaw reported that al-Sharaa’s planned participation at the Arab Summit had sparked angry protests in Iraq’s Shiite-majority Basra province.“No, no to Jolani,” protesters chanted at a May 12 demonstration, according to the news agency. “No, no to terrorism.”
Formerly known as Mohamed al-Jolani, al-Sharaa fought with al-Qaeda in Iraq in the years following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and occupation of the country.
Since being named Syria’s interim leader, al-Sharaa has found support among Sunni-majority regional states such as Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia—all of which had long supported armed rebel groups against the Assad regime.
But in Shiite-majority states like Iraq, where Shiite Iran wields considerable influence, HTS and al-Sharaa face significant opposition, both from the public and political groups aligned with Tehran.
Notably, Baghdad—like Washington—has yet to formally recognize al-Sharaa’s interim government.
Sunni politicians in Iraq, by contrast, have voiced support for HTS and al-Sharaa, and have welcomed the latter’s scheduled attendance at this week’s summit.
In a veiled reference to Iran-aligned political factions, Raad al-Dahlaki, the head of a major Sunni bloc in Iraq’s parliament, said there were “elements” seeking to derail Baghdad’s efforts to reclaim its “rightful place within the Arab community.”
