[1] He is the second eldest child of Mustafa Tlass, a former Syrian Minister of Defense from 1972 to 2004[1][2] of Circassian and Turkish origin.
[4] Tlass was a significant supporter and also, beneficiary of Bashar al-Assad's liberal economy policies over the past decade.
MAS deals with different commercial activities, ranging from roasting coffee beans to producing metal, canned food, and dairy products.
[1][10] In 2004, Tlass also began to provide financial assistance to the website Syria News that was owned by the Syrian Economic Center (SEC).
[16] In 2012, the New York Times reported that Firas and his brother, Brigadier General Manaf Tlass had defected.
[19] AFP reported that Firas and his father, former defense minister Mustafa Tlass, arrived in Paris in March 2012.
[24] His younger brother Manaf Tlass, a Syrian officer, defected from the Assad government and fled to France via Turkey in July 2012.
He further declared that he had provided the Farouq Brigades in the Free Syrian Army, commanded by his cousin Abdul Razzak Tlass, with the humanitarian and relief aid.