Muhsen AlMustafa, a researcher assistant at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies, believes that Asma al-Assad is not the actual leader of the regime, but rather plays a role assigned to her by Bashar al-Assad in coordination with Maher al-Assad. He stresses that her task is to transfer money and build a new economic elite personally loyal to Bashar, Maher, and Hafez Jr., as part of a long-term project aimed at reshaping the regime’s power networks after the old ones, such as Rami Makhlouf, became exposed and vulnerable to Western sanctions.

AlMustafa adds that the economic council linked to Asma emerged due to the large number of files she manages and relies on assistants and multiple companies to evade sanctions. However, he clarifies that her influence is concentrated only in the economic sphere. The army and security remain almost entirely under the control of the Alawite elite, while positions such as the Ministry of Defense lack real influence, which confines Asma’s role to the economy, away from sovereign and military files.