Half a century on, the partnership between Syria's two most powerful families is beginning to unravel
young air-force officer from the highlands called Hafez al-Assad married a girl from the coast named Anisa Makhlouf. It seemed a good fit: Assad was ambitious; the Makhloufs were powerful. And indeed, after Assad took over in a coup in 1970 the two clans ran the country like a family business, propelling their esoteric Muslim sect, the Alawites, from Syria’s backwaters to the centre of power.
Things had been moving against Mr Makhlouf for a while. The death of Anisa in 2016 deprived his clan of protection. Maher al-Assad, the president’s younger brother and commander of the Republican Guard, coveted his business empire. The president’s wife, Asma, wanted to empower her own clique and improve the prospects of their 19-year-old son, Hafez. In his most recent post Mr Makhlouf seemed to blame her for his misfortune.
Normally the regime puts guns in the mouths of troublemakers and calls it suicide. But Mr Makhlouf poses an unusual challenge. His clan is larger than Mr Assad’s and is part of the powerful Haddadin tribe. Mr Makhlouf has courted their loyalty throughout the war. In 2012 he formed the Bustan Association, a charity with an armed wing, to protect and care for his kinsmen. It provided meals, health care and jobs—until Mr Assad curbed some of its activities last year.
Iran, which backs the regime, is looking on anxiously. Mr Makhlouf has “always been close to the Iranians”, says the associate. “He put all his eggs in the Iranian basket.” But Iran itself has bigger problems. The assassination in January of Qassem Suleimani, the commander of its foreign operations, and mounting financial trouble have made it harder for Iran to maintain its position in Syria. Israel has been increasing its air strikes on Iranian bases in the country and says Iran is retreating.
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