TEHRAN – The man who helped oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last week embodies a blend of traits drawn from some of Washington’s most infamous creations: The attire of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, the terrorist background of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, and the strident anti-Iranian rhetoric of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Washington’s $10 million bounty on Abu Mohammad al-Jolani’s head hasn’t stopped Western media from trying to sanitize his image. In an interview with CNN a few days before the fall of Assad’s government, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader was introduced as a misunderstood revolutionary, whose youthful exuberance somehow prompted him to behead civilians on a regular basis. 

“I never had the intent to do these things. [I was] at a certain state of consciousness and young age back then,” he told the CNN reporter, while the female journalist nodded her head in understanding.  The terror leader added that the only threats against Syria were Iran and Hezbollah.

As the world ponders whether it should give the Al-Qaeda and Daesh affiliate a second chance, Iran is likely to reach a clear conclusion sooner. The reason? Al-Jolani seems adamant about sticking to part of his character inspired by Netanyahu.

In similar remarks to his CNN interview on Saturday, al-Jolani said the HTS has no animosity towards the Iranian people, a line usually used by Netanyahu whose biggest dream is to pummel Iran and divide the country into different states.

While he also spoke about his intentions to “unite Syria” and respect all groups in his potential future government, al-Jolani failed to roll out any plans about the elephant in the room: Israel’s recent occupation of new regions in Syria, and its nonstop bombardment of the country in the past week.

Instead, the HTS leader said Syria will not be engaging in any military conflict with Israel because it is “not ready”. He did, however, say that Israel has no reason to attack Syria, as “Iranian forces have left the country”. Israel has bombed Syrian soil on over 2000 occasions since December 8.  According to the regime, over 80% of Syria’s military infrastructure now lies in ruins.

Elsewhere in his remarks, al-Jolani said he will not be joining the Axis of Resistance in support of Palestinians.

Is this it for Syria?

For the most part, so far, al-Jolani has acted as the perfect Western puppet. He has changed his looks to better fit Western TV, he demonizes Iran, and he has a phenomenon indifference to Israeli aggressions against his country. Much to the dismay of Washington and Al-Jolani’s second biggest supporter, Turkey, however, nobody knows when this carefully constructed façade of a reformed terrorist is going to crack and backfire on all involved actors. Some believe that day might be right around the corner.

“The sudden regime change [in Syria] is a short-lived victory. How this all plays out moving forward is almost impossible to say, other than it looks like there will be considerable chaos in Syria for the foreseeable future,” said John Mearsheimer, a renowned political science professor and theorist before condemning Western media for whitewashing HTS’s leader. “These journalists understand full well, most Americans understand… that the U.S. is supporting terrorists.”