Although nearly 14 years have passed since his arrest in Damascus, the family of American journalist Austin Tice is still committed to revealing his fate.
The family repeatedly confirmed that they have data that leads them to believe that he is still alive, suggesting that he may have been transferred from Syria to Iran.
In this context, Naomi Tice, Austin’s sister, explained that the family has information indicating that he may be detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who may have been transferred from Syria to Iran, either during the fall of the regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024 or after.
She added in press statements that Al-Assad repeated that he was not detaining Tice, noting that Iran was running some detention centers inside Syria, which may explain his denial, given that actual control was in the hands of the Iranian side, according to what was reported by the Houston Public Media newspaper.
She continued: “We believe that with the fall of the regime, Austin may have been transferred to Iran, but that is not certain, although there are strong reasons that lead us to believe in this scenario.”
These statements came at a time when the family urged the administration of US President Donald Trump to communicate directly with Tehran to obtain information, as part of the ongoing negotiations to end the war between the United States and Israel on the one hand, and Iran on the other hand.
It also demanded the cooperation of the Israeli government in interrogating a former Syrian officer detained in Austria on charges of committing war crimes, to find out whether he has relevant information, especially after what the New York Times revealed that officer Khaled Al-Halabi was a double agent for the Mossad.
In turn, Jacob Tice, Austin’s brother, called on the FBI to contact the aforementioned officer, saying that the family does not know what information he may have, but believes that there are reasons to suspect that he may have a lead that will lead to revealing Austin’s fate.
It is noteworthy that Tice, a former captain in the Marine Corps and a freelance journalist for the Washington Post, disappeared in August 2012 at a checkpoint west of Damascus, when he was 31 years old at the time, before he later appeared in a video clip documenting his detention by gunmen.
On the other hand, former Syrian officer Bassam al-Hassan, who left Syria after the fall of the regime on December 8, 2024, heading to Iran and then Lebanon, reported that Tice was killed, according to what CNN reported in 2025.
