Did Assad send Israel a target list in exchange for safe conduct? Rumors around Assad’s flight continue to swirl

Amid the collapse of the Assad regime, various stories and rumors regarding secret information communications between the regime and Israel have spread across social media.

Maybe the most dramatic of these stories was recently reported by the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet and echoed by Russian news outlet TASS: Before fleeing Syria, Bashar al-Assad is said to have shared classified military information with Israel in exchange for assurances he wouldn’t be targeted during his flight.

Assad reportedly handed over documents containing target lists of weapons stockpiles, missile launchers and military hangars, which were then used by Israel in its massive operation to destroy Syria’s military capabilities.

“Judging by the precision of Israel’s strikes on Syrian military assets following Assad’s fall, it seems Israel received highly accurate information,” the report said.

According to journalist Abdulkadir Selvi, Assad fled from the Syrian capital Damascus to Moscow on the morning of December 8, with his transport being facilitated by Russia through its Khmeimim airbase in western Syria.

The day before, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met in Doha. Selvi quoted Fidan saying: “We met with the Russians and the Iranians in Doha and discussed a few topics. I prefer not to say more.”

Selvi further claimed Assad had initially wanted to flee to Iran but was refused, while negotiations with the United Arab Emirates also failed.

Assad was not officially welcomed by Russian President Putin, who refused to meet him in person so far. However, Assad did receive political asylum.

The fact that Russian state outlet TASS echoed the unsubstantiated report indicates the Russian leadership is not pleased with Assad’s flight, which threatens to deprive Russia of its valued bases in Syria.

On Monday, a first purported statement from Assad claimed that he never intended to flee, but wanted to “monitor the fighting” from his Alawite stronghold on the coast. After Khmeimim Air Base came under drone attack, the statement claims that Russia ordered an evacuation, leading to Assad ending up in Moscow.

“Upon arrival at the Khmeimim air base that morning, it became clear that our forces had completely withdrawn from all battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen,” according to the statement.

“At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party. The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught.”

Assad “never sought positions for personal gain” and viewed himself as “a custodian of a national project, supported by the faith of the Syrian people,” the statement read.

Despite being released on official Facebook and Telegram channels, some experts have cast doubt on the statement’s authenticity.