Eli Cohen's archive reveals the secrets of the Assad regime... and an international investigation documents the failure of American mediations.

The Hebrew newspaper "Maariv" revealed on Sunday a secret and complex operation carried out by the Israeli Mossad in cooperation with a "strategic partner" intelligence agency, resulting in the transfer of the secret Syrian archive linked to the late Israeli spy Eli Cohen to Israel. The archive, containing thousands of documents and materials stored in utmost secrecy by Syrian security agencies for decades, was moved. Cohen, who operated under the name "Kamel Amin Thabet," worked for the Mossad within decision-making circles in Syria between 1961 and 1965 before being discovered, publicly executed in Damascus, and his burial place remaining unknown to this day. In a related context, an extensive investigation conducted by "Al-Majalla" magazine, based on documents, records, and interviews with Western and Arab officials, revealed several missed opportunities for former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to reopen communication channels with the United States, especially during the presidency of former President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021 and former President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025. However, Assad's stubbornness and political miscalculations led to missing these opportunities, despite the efforts of Arab and regional leaders to save the regime from isolation. Key missed opportunities included: In 2017, the Trump administration initiated secret negotiations with the Syrian regime to release the abducted American journalist Austin Tice. Although Trump discussed assassinating Assad that year due to his use of chemical weapons, diplomacy prevailed later on. In 2020, the White House sent President's envoy for hostage affairs Roger Carstens and Assistant to the President and Director of Counterterrorism Kash Patel to Damascus, where they met with General Ali Mamlouk. Damascus presented preconditions, including the withdrawal of US forces, lifting sanctions, and the restoration of diplomatic relations severed since 2012. In 2021, the Biden administration made another attempt with the support of the journalist's mother, Debra Tice, who personally met with President Biden. However, Assad refused to receive the American delegation, claiming the regime was unaware of Tice's fate. In the Muscat meeting, a high-level American delegation offered to withdraw from the "Al-Omar" and "Conoco" oil fields in exchange for guarantees that no Iranian forces or militias would enter, on the condition that the regime cooperates on the Tice issue, but Assad completely ignored the offer. In 2023, following the devastating earthquake in Syria, Washington tried again to open the door to cooperation by offering condolences and renewing the Tice file, but the regime completely ignored the initiative. In December 2024, Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, and the Syrian regime fell, ending any remaining hope for a possible settlement with Washington or revealing the fate of Austin Tice. Thus, intelligence files intertwined with stalled diplomatic paths reveal that political stubbornness and failure to read the moment may open the archive... and close the doors.