Dermer likens Syria’s new leader to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Dictator

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Saturday likened Syria’s new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, to the satirical character portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen in the film The Dictator, saying the Syrian leader reminds him of the British actor’s portrayal of a brutal and eccentric ruler.

Dermer, a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is set to leave office later this month, made the remark during a speech at a Jewish Democratic Coalition event in Las Vegas.

Dermer’s comments come amid reports that he has been involved in months of quiet diplomatic engagement with senior officials in al-Sharaa’s administration, including direct talks aimed at a potential regional security framework. In September, Dermer met in London with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, as part of internationally mediated efforts involving the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

A Syrian Foreign Ministry official told AFP at the time that progress had been made and that several agreements, primarily military and security-related, were expected before year’s end. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, serving as Washington’s special envoy to Syria, described the London meeting as “a sensitive historic moment,” saying both sides had committed to accelerated talks aimed at lowering tensions and reaching an understanding that respected Syrian sovereignty while safeguarding Israeli and minority security.

In a recent interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, al-Sharaa responded to reports of Israeli strikes near Syria’s presidential palace in Damascus. He acknowledged being close to one of the targeted areas and said such attacks amounted to “an act of war, not a message.” Still, he added that “Syria does not seek to pose a threat to Israel or anyone else.”

During his remarks in Las Vegas, Dermer also emphasized Israel’s value to the United States as a long-term strategic ally. “Britain has James Bond; Israel has the Mossad,” he said, drawing applause. He went on to describe Israel as “America’s most important ally for the next 50 years,” citing the country’s strengths in intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced defense systems and technology.

The event was attended by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, UN envoy Danny Danon and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Senior Republican officials, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Senator Lindsey Graham, were also present.

Dermer addressed concerns surrounding the ceasefire line in Gaza, stating that the so-called “yellow line” would not become a de facto border between Israel and the enclave. “That’s not going to be a permanent line, because the deal that we made calls for Hamas to be ‘decommissioned’ and for Gaza to be demilitarized,” he said, “and that’s going to happen one way or another. It will happen the easy way or happen the hard way.

“Israel is not going to be on that yellow line. If Gaza is demilitarized and Hamas is disarmed, Israel will move to a security perimeter until such time where there’s no terror threat coming from Gaza… If the world doesn’t do it, the soldiers of the IDF are going to do it, and that means that yellow line is going to move. If the world does it, then the yellow line can go back.”

He stressed that the arrangement is backed by dozens of countries and is not just an Israeli initiative. Reflecting on the broader security picture, Dermer said Israel had turned “a strategic catastrophe into a strategic victory” over the past two years.