The story of Luna al‑Shibl, a former journalist who became special advisor to former Syrian president Bashar al‑Assad, has generated conspiracy and debate ever since her death following a road traffic collision in July 2024. Here, as new paperwork comes to light, Al Majalla can reveal further details surrounding her death and the disappearance of her brother Mulham and his wife in April 2024, following an Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus that killed an Iranian general.
Among the documents unearthed is the text of a conversation between Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Republic’s elite Quds Force, and Ali Mamlouk, the head of Syria’s National Security Bureau who was the country’s most senior intelligence head under the Assad regime. They are shown discussing al-Shibl, with Soleimani suggesting that she is a spy.
Luna al‑Shibl was born in Damascus on 1 September 1974 into a Druze family. Her father left the household after falling out with her mother, Naifa, who worked in the ruling Ba’ath Party and taught at a public school. Luna remained estranged from her father for many years until his death, just a few years before her own. She lived with her mother in Barzeh on the outskirts of Damascus and was an active member of Tala’i al‑Ba’ath, the youth organisation affiliated with the ruling party.
Saddling up to Assad
While studying French at Damascus University, she worked in a wedding card design shop. After graduating, she joined Syrian television as a news presenter before moving to Al Jazeera in August 2003. There she met Lebanese journalist Sami Kleib, whom she married in 2008, acquiring Lebanese citizenship.
There are conflicting accounts over how Luna first met Bashar al‑Assad. Some say the introduction was arranged by a Qatari intermediary; others say it was her own initiative. A special relationship developed in 2008, with Luna travelling secretly to Damascus to meet him. In December 2011 she appeared on the private Syrian channel Dunya, announcing that she had resigned from Al Jazeera on 5 May 2010 and wished to place her “expertise” at the service of the Syrian regime.
Her initial role was within the National Security Bureau, which was later headed by Gen. Ali Mamlouk. In February 2012, she became head of the president’s media office, a role previously held by Buthaina Shaaban. A fierce rivalry soon developed between the two women for Assad’s favour, Luna working to sideline Shaaban and others. She consolidated her influence and developed a close rapport with Assad’s wife, Asma.
Luna began serving as a mediator in several areas, notably through extended meetings with Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, before his departure from Damascus. Yet while she was in favour at the palace, Bashar’s powerful brother Maher al‑Assad—the ruthless commander of the Fourth Division of the Republican Guard—never trusted her, even after her 2016 marriage to Ammar Saati, a Maher loyalist who had led the Student Union across Syrian universities.
A quiet warning
According to sources and information obtained by Al Majalla, Maher warned Assad’s advisers against Luna, as did Soleimani, who believed she was a spy. He was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad in January 2020. Based on a document reviewed by Al Majalla that originated from trusted sources, the following exchange took place in Arabic between Soleimani and Mamlouk in late 2019. It took place as Luna al‑Shibl left Mamlouk’s office, while Soleimani was arriving.
Soleimani: Who is that?
Mamlouk: Luna al‑Shibl, adviser to the President.
Soleimani: I know. But who is she really? Where did she work?
Mamlouk: At Al Jazeera
Soleimani: And how much was her salary?
Mamlouk: I don’t know
Soleimani: I’ll tell you: $10,000. And how much is her salary today?
Mamlouk: I don’t know
Soleimani: I’ll tell you: 500,000 Syrian pounds. Is it plausible that she would leave $10,000 for 500,000 pounds? She is a spy
(Soleimani used the masculine pronoun in Arabic, as is common in such contexts)
Despite this stark warning, President Assad brought Luna ever closer into his inner circle, appointing her as media advisor by presidential decree. Asma al‑Assad also supported her, placing her on the board of trustees at the private Manara University. Yet this support would not last. In early 2023, Asma began to distance herself from Luna, around the time of the devastating earthquake in north-western Syria, Asma having asked Luna to become her personal advisor, rather than continue under Bashar.
From that point on, Luna’s influence waned, a process that ultimately led to her death. Among those close to her, Luna often expressed an ambition that bordered on obsession, saying: “I must be the First Lady.” When Asma learned that she once again had cancer in May 2024, Luna reportedly said: “God willing, she will die.”
Mysterious money
By early last year, signs of extraordinary wealth had begun to emerge. Luna bought real estate in Dubai reportedly worth $8mn, a figure she shared with friends. Her husband, Ammar, ran a car‑rental company in Dubai and owned a fuel station on Syria’s Mediterranean coast. In June 2022, Luna opened a lavish Russian restaurant in Damascus’s Mezze district, named Nash Kray.
