Iran threatens Israel after senior general killed in Syria

DPA
·2 min read
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A handout picture released by the Tasnim news agency on 25 December 2023 shows Seyed Razi Moussavi, a senior adviser for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Mousavi was killed on 25 December 2023 in an Israeli missile attack outside the Syrian capital Damascus, Iranian state media said quoting a statement by the IRGC. -/Tasnim News Agency via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Iran has threatened Israel with retaliation following the death of high-ranking Iranian General Seyed Razi Mousavi in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general was killed on Monday in a suspected Israeli airstrike on a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus.

According to the New York Times, Mousavi is said to have helped monitor the delivery of missiles and other weapons to Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, which is backed by Iran and has repeatedly launched attacks on northern Israel in support of Hamas since the beginning of the Gaza war.

Israel frequently attacks locations in Syria to prevent Iran from further expanding its military influence in the region with the help of militias.

Iranian Defence Ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik threatened Israel over the death of Mousavi on Tuesday saying "The Zionists (Israel) must be prepared for the consequences of their crime ... and they will be painful."

Israel had not only violated Syria's territorial integrity with the attack, but had also escalated the already tense situation in the region even further, he was quoted as saying by Iran's Tasnim news agency.

The Israeli military on Monday evening said it would not comment on foreign media reports.

According to the New York Times, Israeli officials were preparing for possible Iranian retaliation.

Iran, alongside Russia, is the most important ally of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. Tehran considers Syria to be part of the so-called "axis of resistance" in its fight against Israel, alongside Hezbollah.

The leadership in Tehran claims IRGC forces in Syria are only acting as military advisors and are not directly involved in the country's ongoing civil war. According to US intelligence, Iran also supports the Houthi rebels in Yemen and militias in Iraq.