Middle East
HTS to ‘shrink the state’ through privatization and civil servant sackings

Syria’s new Islamist leaders are embarking on a radical overhaul of the country’s economy, including plans to sack a third of public sector workers and privatize state-owned companies that dominated under the Baath Party and the Assad’s.
The first sackings began just weeks after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad on December 8, while the pace of the announced crackdown “against waste and corruption” has triggered protests by government employees, including fears of a “sectarian purge of jobs,” Reuters reported by Riham Alkousaa.
Reuters spoke to five ministers in the interim government formed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), all of whom described the broad scope of plans to “downsize the state.” They said this included the elimination of a large number of “ghost employees” (people who allegedly received salaries for doing little or nothing under Assad).
Reuters lends support to the sectarian narrative, arguing that under Hafez and Bashar al-Assad, Syria was organized as a “militarized, state-led economy that favored an inner circle of allies and family members, with members of the Alawite sect of the family heavily represented in the public sector.”
107 state-owned companies to be divested
HTS’s economy minister, 40-year-old former energy engineer Basil Abdel Hanan, told Reuters that there was a major shift towards a “competitive free market economy.”
The government under “interim president” Abu Mohammed al-Jolani (Ahmed al-Shara) will work to privatize state-owned industrial companies, which Hanan said total 107, most of which are loss-making.
Hanan promised to keep “strategic” energy and transport assets in public hands but did not name the companies to be sold. Syria’s main industries include oil, cement, and steel.
Finance Minister Mohammad Abazeed said in an interview that some state-owned companies existed only to embezzle funds and would be closed down. Abazeed said, “We expected corruption, but not this much.”
Half of the civil servants may be sacked
Abazeed said that based on a preliminary examination, only 900,000 of the 1.3 million people on the state payroll actually showed up for work.
“That means there are 400,000 ghost names. Eliminating them would save considerable resources,” Mr. Abazeed said.
Administrative Development Minister Mohammad Alskaf, who oversees public sector staffing, went further, telling Reuters that the state would need between 550,000 and 600,000 employees, less than half the current number.
Abazeed said that the reforms, which also aim to grant amnesty for penalties and simplify the tax system, aim to remove obstacles and encourage investors to return to Syria.
HTS’s goal is familiar: Reduce bureaucracy, boost exports
“So factories inside the country can serve as a launching pad for global exports,” said Abazeed, who was an economist at Al-Shamal private university before serving as a treasury official in the HTS stronghold of Idlib in 2023.
Since 2017, HTS has been attracting investment and the private sector in Idlib “with less bureaucracy and pressure on hardline religious groups,” according to Reuters.
The new government hopes for a nationwide increase in foreign and domestic investment to create new jobs as Syria rebuilds after 14 years of conflict, three ministers told Reuters.
However, for HTS to replicate the “Idlib model,” it will have to overcome a wide range of challenges, notably international sanctions that severely hamper foreign trade.
The question of the legitimacy of al-Jolani’s government could be raised
Maha Katta, Resilience and Crisis Response Specialist for Arab Countries at the International Labour Organisation, said the economy is currently not in a position to create enough private jobs.
Katta said, “I’m not sure it’s really a wise decision,” adding that restructuring the public sector “makes sense” but questioning whether it should be a top priority for a government that needs to revive the economy first.
While recognizing the imperative for interim leaders to act quickly to get the country under control, some critics see the scale and pace of the planned changes as overreaching.
Aron Lund of the Middle East-focused think tank Century International said, “They talk about a transition, but they are making decisions as if they were a legitimately constituted government.”
Islamist government to administer neoliberal ‘shock therapy’
Economy Minister Hanan said economic policy would be designed to manage the consequences of rapid market reforms to avoid the chaos of recession and unemployment that followed the “shock therapy” imposed on post-Soviet countries in Europe in the 1990s.
Mr. Hanan said, “The aim is to balance private sector growth with support for the most vulnerable.”
The government has announced a 400% increase in civil servant salaries, currently around $25 a month, starting in February. It is also mitigating the impact of layoffs through severance pay or by asking some workers to stay at home while needs are assessed.
Hussein El Khatib, Director of Health Facilities at the Ministry of Health said, “We are saying to the employees who are hired just to get a salary: please take your salary and sit at home, but let us do our job.”
Discontent Among Public Laborers Grows
But discontent among workers is growing. Workers have been showing Reuters lists circulating in the labor and trade ministries, which have scaled back Assad-era employment programs for former soldiers who fought alongside the government in the war.
One of these veterans, Mohammed, told Reuters he was dismissed from his data entry job at the labor ministry on January 23 and given three months’ paid leave. Mohammed said 80 other former fighters had received the same notice, which he shared with Reuters.
Responding to questions from Reuters, the labor ministry said that “due to administrative inefficiencies and implicit unemployment” some employees had been placed on three months’ paid leave to assess their work situation, after which their status would be reviewed.
The plans sparked protests in January in cities such as Daraa in southern Syria and Latakia on the coast.
Daraa Health Directorate employees carried banners reading “No to arbitrary and unjust dismissals” during a demonstration attended by dozens of people.
Demonstrator Adham Abu Al-Alaya said he fears losing his job. He says he supports the elimination of ghost labor but rejects the allegation that he or his colleagues are being paid for doing nothing. He was hired in 2016 to manage records and pay bills.
Abu Al-Alaya said, “My salary helps me meet my basic needs, such as bread and yogurt,” adding that he also works another job to make ends meet.
He said, “If this decision is implemented, unemployment will increase across society, which is something we cannot afford.”
Middle East
Call from the the Nedaye Iranian Party: ‘Let Us Unite Against Israeli Oppression’

The Nedaye Party, a political party from the reformist camp in Iran, issued a letter calling on more than 100 political parties and international organizations worldwide to unite in condemning Israel’s attacks.
Presenting itself as a “young, reformist, and peace-loving” political party, the Nedaye Iranian Party released a letter addressing more than 100 global political parties and international organizations across five continents, regarding Israel’s attacks on Iran and especially its war crimes committed against civilians, children, women, and peace-loving civil activists in Gaza.
The letter, signed by the Secretary-General of the party, Seyed Shahabeddin Tabatabaei, proposed the formation of a global coalition capable of taking serious measures against the spread of violence and threats to global peace.
The letter suggested that anti-war and peace-loving political parties cooperate to unite against Israel’s aggression and war crimes. The concrete proposals were listed as follows:
1- Officially, firmly and publicly condemn the recent Israeli attack on Iran.
2- Pressure your governments to stop military, intelligence and technological cooperation with this regime.
3- Support the referral of these crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the initiation of legal proceedings against its officials.
4- Demand that the competent UN bodies conduct independent, transparent and impartial investigations into these attacks.
5- Actively participate in launching international awareness campaigns to expose the dimensions of these crimes.
6- Hold partisan and international meetings to coordinate political and legal measures against the Zionist regime.
At the end of the letter, the Nedaye Party proposed the formation of an international coalition capable of taking effective and serious steps to oppose the spread of violence and threats to global peace, calling for a “shared stance.” It emphasized that organizing a joint meeting among various parties across the world would be “a first but strategic step on the path to international political solidarity.”
The letter concluded with the following words:
“This is not just a call to issue a statement; it is a call for collective action, for solidarity in defending human dignity, and to prevent the repetition of tragedies that may occur tomorrow in another corner of the world.
The memory of all the innocents lost calls us to a historic responsibility. Let us stand against warmongering and destruction at this critical moment, with unity and determination, and build a more humane world.”
Middle East
Plight of refugees in Iran

As the process of deporting Afghan migrants from Iran intensifies, Iranian officials say that in the past week, more than 120,000 people have entered Afghanistan from Iran, both forcibly and voluntarily.
The district governor of Taybad in Iran says that nearly 8,000 undocumented Afghan citizens enter Afghanistan daily through the Dogharun border alone.
Meanwhile, some deported immigrants say they left all their assets in Iran and were forced to return home empty-handed.
Hossein Jamshidi, the district governor of Taybad, told Iranian media that in the past week alone, more than 95,000 undocumented citizens and about 25,000 documented migrants from all over Iran have been identified and returned to Afghanistan from this border.
Dogharoon border is the largest crossing point for the deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran. Every day, thousands of migrants, most of whom were living in Iran without documents, are now transported in large convoys, in dozens of passenger buses from all over Iran, to this border point zero.
But in this side of the border!
But on this side of the border, at the Islam Qala crossing, thousands of people, including women and children, are standing in long lines in the scorching sun, wearing only a few layers of clothing, waiting to cross the border and enter Afghan territory.
Many of these migrants say they have nowhere to go and have been forced to leave all their belongings on the other side of the border, on Iranian soil, and return empty-handed.
The Taliban have called for the establishment of a “coordinated mechanism” with the Iranian government for the return of refugees.
UN agencies have called for increased financial assistance following the significant expulsion of Afghan refugees from neighboring countries.
The Norwegian government has expressed concern about the deportation of migrants in recent days and has allocated nearly $1 million to support them.
Middle East
US proposes $30 billion deal to Iran for halting uranium enrichment

The administration of US President Donald Trump is reportedly discussing the possibility of providing Iran with up to $30 billion in financial access to develop its peaceful nuclear program as part of efforts to return to negotiations with Tehran.
According to a CNN report citing sources familiar with the matter, this offer requires Tehran to completely halt uranium enrichment, a condition emphasized as “non-negotiable.”
Under the proposed plan, the funds would not be provided by the US but by Arab nations. An administration official stated, “The US is ready to lead these negotiations. Someone will have to pay for the implementation of the nuclear program, but we will not make such a commitment.”
Other proposals on the table
American officials have indicated that other offers are also being considered. These include the potential lifting of some sanctions against Iran and granting Tehran access to $6 billion of its frozen assets in foreign banks.
Another idea involves US allies in the Persian Gulf covering the cost of building new infrastructure to replace the Fordow nuclear facility, which was damaged in US attacks. This new facility would also lack uranium enrichment capabilities.
Washington’s “comprehensive peace” initiative
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Special Representative for the Middle East, told CNBC that the US aims to achieve a “comprehensive peace agreement.”
A White House statement emphasized that all proposals are designed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Following the events of the past two weeks, which include mutual attacks with Israel and a US strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, the White House hopes Tehran will accept Washington’s terms.
Experts are skeptical, fearing the offer could backfire
Conversely, Iran experts cited by CNN believe these events will further convince the country’s leadership of the necessity of possessing nuclear weapons.
Earlier this week, the Iranian parliament approved the suspension of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Even before the US attack on the night of June 22, the Iranian government had already significantly restricted agency officials’ access to its facilities.
According to IAEA data from mid-May, Iran possessed approximately 409 kilograms of highly enriched uranium.
Bloomberg reported that this amount is theoretically sufficient to produce ten nuclear warheads. The agency’s Director General, Rafael Grossi, stated that the location of this material is unknown.
While Tehran claims it moved its uranium stockpiles from the attacked facilities beforehand, the IAEA assesses that a significant portion of the stocks may have survived the strike.
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