Ahmad al-Sharaa, former Al-Qaeda chief and self-appointed Syrian president, has been named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2025.
The only leader from West Asia on the list, he joins celebrities including Ed Sheeran, Adam Scott, and Scarlett Johansson.
Nominated by former US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, al-Sharaa is described as "soft-spoken" and "ambitious," with a history of fighting both with and against ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
All of this, while he continues to oversee massacres on the Syrian coast.