With a high-ranking member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) killed in an Israeli airstrike in Syria, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned that Israel would pay a price.
On the 25th (local time), Reuters reported, citing three sources, that IRGC senior commander Seyyed Raji Mousavi was killed in an Israeli airstrike near Damascus, Syria.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency also confirmed this fact, saying, “Mousavi was killed in an attack by the Zionist regime (Israel) in the Zeinabiya area on the outskirts of Damascus.”
The IRGC is an elite unit created to protect the Islamic system after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. It consists of the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as units responsible for special operations and overseas operations, and is estimated to number between 125,000 and 150,000. It is mainly mobilized to suppress anti-government protests. In addition, it is known to support armed groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and Palestine’s Hamas.
Mousavi is the oldest IRGC commander operating in Syria and Lebanon and is said to have been responsible for coordinating financing and logistics transfers between Iran and Syria.
In addition, Al Jazeera, a Middle East media outlet, reported that Mousavi played a key role in the weapons smuggling network between the so-called ‘Axis of Resistance’, including Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon.
In response, President Raisi said in a statement released on state television, “Without a doubt, the usurper and barbaric Zionist regime will pay for this crime.”
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said in a statement, “Iran has the right to respond appropriately to Mousavi’s death,” and condemned it as “a sinful and cowardly act and a sign of the Zionist regime’s terrorist nature.”
Israel has not released any statement regarding Mousavi’s death. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said, “We will not comment on foreign reports,” and added, “The Israeli military has a mission to protect Israel’s security interests.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.