DAMASCUS, Syria - Mohammed Jalali, the last prime minister under Bashar al-Assad's regime, told Rudaw last week that he received a monthly salary of just $140. In his 150-square-meter Damascus apartment, he described his country's corruption as "unprecedented worldwide” with Syria's debt to Iran alone reaching $30 billion.
Two factors that brought down Assad
"Poverty and corruption led to the fall of the Syrian regime, not the 13-year war in the country,” Jalali said.
On the morning of December 8, Syrians woke up to news that their president of 24 years had fled to Russia. Unlike Assad and many other government and security officials, who had fled fearing the people and the Sunni-rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham's arrival, Jalali decided to stay in Damascus.
"I had no fear that would make me flee,” he said. “At 5am on December 8, 2024, before Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham fighters reached Damascus, I had 20 security guards. They all left. My family and I remained alone," he recounted.
At 8 am on the day of Assad's regime collapse, Jalali received a phone call telling him to "stay and you'll be protected." The call came from Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of the HTS, who is now Syria's de facto leader. Jalali elaborated on the call's content: "Ahmed Al-Sharaa told me we'll maintain contact and you'll be protected. I responded that I'm staying and haven't abandoned my country like others."
Two days after Assad's fall, at Al-Sharaa's request, Jalali transferred his power to Mohammed Bashir, forming an interim government until March 2025.
Minister for 100 gold liras
Jalali lives with his children in a 150-square-meter basement apartment on the outskirts of Damascus. During our interview, he chain-smoked Marlboros from a blue pack, which costs 50,000 Syrian pounds (about $4). He smoked five cigarettes, filling the room with a dense haze of smoke.
He hadn't shaved his white beard for five days, and when Rudaw asked about it, he just lit another cigarette without saying when he'd shave it.
Before he became Syria's premier, he was the head of the Syrian Private University and also worked briefly as the Minister of Communications. A former security minister called him up one day and told him, "Your name is in the mix for becoming Syria's Prime Minister." Jalali was surprised. He had no clue this was coming. When he was putting together his cabinet, he said, someone tried to bribe him with 100 gold liras to appoint a specific person as a minister, but he turned it down and didn't appoint that guy. He wouldn't say who it was though.
Ministers were getting paid just $70 a month. Jalali said poverty and corruption are what really brought Assad down, calling it "unprecedented worldwide." He explained, "As Prime Minister, I made two million Syrian pounds, which is about $140. Ministers got one million, which is $70, civil servants made $20, and soldiers were paid only $17.50."
Jalali and his family had to pick up extra work just to survive. He said, "I used to run a university, my wife works as an engineer, and I did some consulting work. That's how we managed to pull in $2,000 a month." He then asked a poignant question about the soldiers, "How can you expect someone to risk their life for their country when they're only paid $17.50?"
How much did Assad leave for his people?
Syria has been at war since 2011, split into different military zones, causing the economy to tank. Before all this started, they were pumping out 300,000 barrels of crude each day, but they lost control over it.
For the 2025 budget, Jalali said it was set at 52 trillion Syrian pounds, with a 20 percent deficit, and most of the money came from taxes. When Assad fell, there was only $100 million left in the central bank, and all of it was in Syrian pounds.
Electricity production has plummeted by 70 percent. He explained, "We used to make 8,000 megawatts before the war, with extra to sell. Now, we're down to 1,000 megawatts. We need 7,000 to give everyone power all day."
About Iran’s support for his country, Jalali said, "they gave us two million barrels of oil each month, and we bought half of it. Iraq couldn't help us out because of US pressure. Since the revolution began, Iran has been giving Syria $3 billion every year, leading to a $30 billion debt now.”