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For years, Israel has maintained secret contact with the regime of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad through the popular messaging app WhatsApp, sources say. Those ties ended with the fall of the regime earlier this month.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israel had established contact with the highest echelons of the Syrian leadership using an agent codenamed “Musa.” The agent reportedly sent messages to key figures in Damascus, including Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas, in an effort to address concerns about growing Iranian influence in Syria.

According to the publication, the negotiations began after the increased presence of Iranian troops and proxy groups such as the Lebanese Hezbollah in Syria since the start of the civil conflict in 2011. Israel allegedly offered Assad a deal in which sanctions against his regime could be eased in exchange for an end to Iranian arms sales to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Sources claim that the Musa agent contacted the Syrian leadership after each Israeli attack on Syrian territory, explaining their reasons and warning of further actions if cooperation with Iran and its proxy structures was not stopped.

These messages, allegedly distributed among senior Syrian leaders, including Deputy President for Security Ali Mamlouk, became public after the seizure of Syrian intelligence headquarters by rebels. The documents have been interpreted as evidence of an alleged plot between Israel and Russia against the Syrian regime.

In addition, the publication claims that the negotiations were conducted with the active mediation of Moscow. It is reported that a meeting was planned between the then head of the Israeli Mossad and Assad in the Kremlin, but the latter refused.

Since the overthrow of the regime, there have been numerous reports of alleged secret deals between Israel and the Syrian leadership, but there has been no official confirmation of these data.

Earlier, Kursor reported that Syria sent a new message to Israel.