Syrian Interior Ministry denies reports of attack on President al-Sharaa
Shafaq News– Damascus
The Syrian Interior Ministry on Monday denied reports that transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa had been targeted or injured, calling the information circulating in some media outlets and on social media “false and misleading.”
Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour al‑Din al‑Baba said the rumors were accompanied by fabricated statements falsely attributed to official bodies, stressing that the ministry “categorically denies these allegations.”
تداولت بعض المنصات أنباءً عارية عن الصحة تزعم وقوع حدث أمني استهدف فخامة رئيس الجمهورية العربية السورية وعدداً من الشخصيات القيادية، مرفقة ببيانات مزوّرة نُسبت زوراً إلى جهات رسمية.نؤكد بشكل قاطع كذب هذه الادعاءات جملةً وتفصيلاً، ونهيب بالمواطنين الكرام، وبجميع وسائل الإعلام،…
— نور الدين البابا (@SyrianMoiSpokes) January 5, 2026
Unverified claims had circulated since last week alleging that al‑Sharaa was injured in an attack, amid speculation linked to his absence from public appearances for more than ten days and social media posts alleging internal disputes and gunfire inside the presidential palace in Damascus. Shafaq News could not independently verify those claims.
The denial comes amid wider regional reporting on alleged threats against al-Sharaa. On Monday, Israel’s Walla news site, citing Israeli military assessments, reported claims that Iran and “other hostile actors” were working to assassinate the Syrian president.
Reuters reported in November 2025 that Syrian authorities had thwarted two separate ISIS plots to assassinate al-Sharaa, citing a senior Syrian security official and a senior Middle Eastern official.
In another report, Turkiye Gazetesi claimed in February 2025 that an alleged Iranian plan to undermine al-Sharaa’s government, including discussion of a possible assassination, had been raised during a meeting involving Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers and former Syrian regime figures in Najaf. Neither Syrian nor Iranian officials publicly confirmed the report at the time.
