Israel has not yet claimed responsibility for the air strike in Damascus, but Iran is certain: Israel has killed several members of the Revolutionary Guard. Iran’s President Raisi announced that the “crime will not be left unanswered.”
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has accused arch-enemy Israel of air strikes in Syria and threatened retaliation. The Islamic Republic will not leave the “crime of the Zionist regime” unanswered, state radio quoted Raisi as saying. The Israeli military has not yet commented on the attack.
Saturday’s attack in the Syrian capital Damascus killed five members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), including four “military advisers” and a soldier, the elite unit said. Two of the advisers were senior intelligence officers. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, three Syrians, a Lebanese and an Iraqi also died.
attack on High security zone
The attack targeted a four-story building in the Masseh district where a “meeting of pro-Iranian leaders” was taking place at the time. The district is home to, among other things, UN buildings, embassies and restaurants. The district is therefore known as a high-security zone in which representatives of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and pro-Iranian Palestinian organizations regularly stay.
Israel “certainly targeted high-ranking members” of these groups, said the Observatory’s director, Rami Abdel Rahman. The UK-based organization sources its information from a network of sources in Syria. The information provided by the observatory is often difficult to verify independently.
Iran: “Terrorist attack” by the “Zionist regime”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry also strongly condemned the attack in Syria. In addition to diplomatic protest, the Islamic Republic reserves the right to respond to the “terrorism” of the “Zionist regime” in due course, said ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, according to a statement. “Undoubtedly, the blood of these high-ranking martyrs will not be wasted.” Kanaani called the attack a “desperate attempt to spread instability and insecurity in the region.”
A few days ago, the Revolutionary Guard attacked targets in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan in response to the killing of a general and terrorist attacks in the country. Some military experts said the rocket fire in Syria was also intended to show that Iran has weapons that could reach Israel.
Recently several members of the Revolutionary Guards killed in Syria
The Syrian state news agency Sana’s report said the attack was “the result of Israeli aggression.” Pictures on social media show a destroyed house on the side of the road.
Israel did not comment on the reports. Iran, along with Russia, is the Syrian government’s most important ally. Israel regularly attacks targets in the neighboring civil war country to prevent Iran from expanding its military influence there with the help of militias. Officially, Iran is only active in Syria in an advisory capacity. Since the attack by the terrorist organization Hamas on October 7th and the start of the war, Israel has increased its attacks. Three members of the Revolutionary Guard were killed in December. Earlier this month, Israel said it also killed a leading Hamas member in Syria in a rocket attack.
The Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) is Iran’s elite military force and is considered significantly more powerful than the regular army. Founded after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the unit is intended to prevent a coup and protect the state ideology. In recent decades, the IRGC has also become an economic power. The IRGC also operates abroad with the so-called Al-Kuds Brigades.