Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says General Sayyed Razi Mousavi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Syria on Monday night, Iranian media reports.
Explosions were reportedly heard outside Damascus. Footage and images on social media show smoke rising from rooftops near the capital’s airport, a site often targeted for attacks because it is regularly used by Iranian forces in the area.
Israel has not commented on the allegations.
Razi Mousavi ska been responsible for coordinating the military alliance between Iran and Syria, reports Reuters. He is said to have been involved in Iran’s attempts to supply weapons to terrorist organizations in the area, including Lebanese Hezbollah, according to Times of Israel.
The general was one of the Revolutionary Guard’s most experienced advisers in Syria and is said to have been a close associate of General Qassem Soleimani, the leader of one of the Guard’s elite forces, who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq in 2020.
A Hezbollah sympathizer holds up a picture of Qassem Soleimani during a ceremony to mark the third anniversary of his death. Photo: Bilal Hussein/AP
The murder of Qassem Soleimani and several other high-ranking military personnel was carried out with the aim of “protecting Americans” and “deterring future Iranian attack plans”, the US stated at the time.
President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi says Israel will have to pay for the killing of General Mousavi, Reuters reports.
“This action is undoubtedly another sign of the frustration, helplessness and incompetence of the Zionist regime (Israel) in the region,” Raisi said in a statement.
Israel is said to be preparing for a military response from Iran, writes Jerusalem Post citing Israeli defense sources. The newspaper writes that Israel has made the assessment that Iran has increased its arms deliveries to forces in Syria since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out.
Iran has received an increasing influence in Syria since the country sided with President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that broke out in 2011. For years, Israel has attacked targets linked to Iran in Syria.
Earlier in December, Iran said Israel had killed two members of the Revolutionary Guard in Syria, who were advisers there. Iran has sent hundreds of members of the Revolutionary Guard to train soldiers from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in Syria. The militias are to support the regime’s side in the Syrian civil war.
2023-12-25 19:41:46
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