There is hardly any disagreement among Syrians about the major political imperatives facing the country. Foremost among these imperatives are the unity of the country’s territory and people; its sovereignty and civil peace; genuine transitional justice, not vindictive, retributive, or selective, allowing for redress for past harms and is based on an examination of the underlying causes to prevent their recurrence. The imperatives also include a unified national army that ends the faction-based divide and is built on competence and a comprehensive national identity that views all Syrians as equal citizens, and its mission is to defend Syrians against external aggression and uphold the constitution, which in turn must protect the freedom of Syrians in its political, social, and cultural dimensions.

As soon as the ceasefire between the Zionist entity and Iran went into effect, the American and “Israeli” media and political machine began aggressively promoting forthcoming normalization agreements with “several countries in the region”. Over the past two days, a number of “Israeli” newspapers and websites have published what they called “leaks” about supposed agreements to be signed with Syria, pursuant to which Syria would relinquish the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, not to mention the volume of rumors circulating online.

The well-known objective law continues to operate: War is the iron lung through which capitalism breathes, and the deeper its crises become, the more it expands the scope of war. In today’s world, after the Western center lost the vast majority of real production processes and retains the dollar financial center and dominance of international institutions due to the inertia of the past, war has become its sole and most important tool. The entirety of the Western center has become an iron lung of war, with nothing left to offer the planet but wars, destruction, and sanctions.

On Friday, June 13, 2025, and with blatant American complicity, “Israel” launched an unprecedented, large-scale aggression against Iran, despite ongoing negotiations on the Iranian nuclear file. Numerous countries around the world and in our region condemned this aggression, most notably the clear and justified condemnations issued by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt, along with condemnations from all Arab countries.

In its last editorial, Kassioun intensively demonstrated its vision on “how to win the war on poverty”, setting out six programmatic points that cannot be overlooked if there is a genuine will to end poverty in Syria. Here, we address a fundamental aspect of the “war on poverty”, which is the “war on corruption”.

The current authorities, represented by Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, raised the slogan “War on Poverty” a few days ago. This is a justified and ambitious slogan, one that resonates with the desires of more than 90% of Syrians who have lived below the poverty line for years.

The experiences of Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Libya, and others teach us that the mere collapse of a ruling authority does not necessarily mean the fall of the ruling regime in its socioeconomic dimension – that is, the manner of distributing wealth and dealing with the country, its economy, and the rights of its people, whether in the national, democratic, or social sense. Those experiences also teach us that the collapse of a tyrannical and plundering regime cannot turn into a true and complete victory for the oppressed and plundered people unless it is complemented by building of a radically different new system – one that is socioeconomically just, democratic, and patriotic. One that preserves the sovereignty and wealth of its country, and through which the people can govern themselves.

Since Assad fled – nearly six months ago – we have, through Kassioun, repeatedly said:

US sanctions will not be lifted anytime soon, and let’s work to relaunch the Syrian economy, whether the sanctions are lifted or not, while continuing to demand lifting them.

Over the past week, media reports, mostly in the West, have discussed the possibility of Syrian normalization with “Israel”. This discussion has taken place within several contexts, including Trump’s visit to the Gulf states and the link between lifting US sanctions on Syria and normalization with the Zionist entity.

Over the past 14 years, based on the state of war and total chaos, “Israel” has been able to achieve widespread penetration and infiltration within the ranks of a large number of Syrian sides, through active and dormant cells that carry out multiple tasks ranging from monitoring and gathering information, to spreading rumors and sectarian and nationalist incitement (including via social media). The tasks also include direct tangible roles that involve assassinations, killings, and sabotage operations, not to mention the overt military role of the Zionist entity’s army, and the overt political role calling for partitioning and ending Syria altogether.