Kidnapped U.S. Journalist Family Says He May Be in Iran

The family of Austin Tice, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and journalist missing since 2012, is presenting new evidence and hope that he remains alive following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria.

Austin’s sister, Naomi Tice, revealed that the family has reason to believe he was transferred from Syrian detention to the custody of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during or after the fall of Damascus in late 2024.

The family is now calling on the Trump administration to leverage ongoing negotiations with Iran and pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow U.S. investigators to question the exiled Bashar al-Assad. Furthermore, they are requesting Israeli cooperation to interview a former Syrian general currently held in Austria who may have intelligence on Austin’s whereabouts.

As the longest-held American journalist in history, Tice’s case has become a focal point for advocates demanding more aggressive government action to recover wrongfully detained citizens abroad.