In his long journey from a young al-Qaeda fighter two decades ago to a rebel commander advocating sectarian tolerance, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani has had plenty of time to refine his narrative.

It’s no surprise that the Islamist rebel chose the revered Umayyad Mosque in Damascus – not a television studio, nor a recently absent presidential palace, but a site of immense religious significance that, at 1,300 years old, is one of the oldest mosques in the world – to achieve this message.

It was a message to everyone who had brought him to power and sent his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters across Syria with astonishing speed to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

To the newly liberated Syrians: “This victory, my brothers, is the result of the suffering of those who endured captivity,” he said. In a country where the God you choose and the way you pray can define your class, limit your ambitions and pit you against your neighbor, Jolani at the Umayyad Mosque sent a very clear signal. He is a Sunni Muslim and belongs to the majority in Syria. Assad was an Alawite. There are Christians, Druze, Shia Muslims, Ismailis and more.

But the words he chose seemed designed to break those old boundaries. “This new triumph, my brothers, marks a new chapter in the history of the region, a history fraught with dangers that made Syria a playground for Iranian ambitions, spreading sectarianism and fomenting corruption,” he said.

To Iran: He sent an obvious message to the Tehran theocracy – that their meddling is over, that their easy land access to their mega-proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon is over, that their support for the Syrian Hezbollah is over, and that the homeland they once had is over too for Iran’s weapons stockpiles has disappeared.

To the USA and Israel: Jolani knows that message is being heard in Tel Aviv and Washington, where he is considered a member of a banned terrorist organization and has a $10 million bounty on his head. “Their interests will be understood in the new Syria,” he said. An understanding on his part that these are the forces capable of bringing him down.

Jolani’s message was also attuned to regional powers he needs to keep on his side, promising to clean things up. “Syria will be cleansed,” he said, referring to the country’s regional reputation as a drug state. Assad’s Syria has become “the world’s leading source of Captagon,” an amphetamine-like drug, and crime in the region.