IRAN
Quds-commandanten van IRGC gedood bij vermoedelijk Israëlische aanval
April 2, 2024 - Iran vowed revenge on Israel after seven senior commanders of its elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force were assassinated, and could time its retaliation for Quds Day, April 5.
In the most significant assassination since the U.S. killed Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani (right) in Baghdad in January 2020, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who oversaw covert military operations as Quds Force commander in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinian Territories was killed when a missile destroyed a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus.
As part of the embassy compound, Iran has argued that the airstrike constitutes an attack on Iranian territory, in violation of international conventions and norms. It is believed that IRGC commanders were meeting with leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad to coordinate activities in Gaza and the West Bank when the missile struck. Israeli officials said the building was an outpost of the IRGC, making it a legitimate military target.
Zahedi was highly influential within the Iranian security establishment and would have played a key role in managing how Iran and the so-called “Axis of Resistance” have responded since the Israel-Hamas war began. Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Haj Rahimi, Quds Force Commander Palestine and General Hossein Amanollahi, Quds Force Chief of General Staff were also killed, along with four other senior commanders, Seyyed Mehdi Jalalati, Mohsen Sadaqat,
Ali Agha Babaei, and Seyyed Ali Salehi Rozbahani.
- Iran update (ISW)
- Iran says Israel bombs its embassy in Syria, kills commanders (Reuters)
- 3 Top Iranian Commanders Are Reported Killed in Israeli Strike in Syria (New York Times)
- Iran’s top commander in Syria killed in airstrike; Tehran blames Israel, vows revenge (Times of Israel)
- IRGC confirms martyrdom of military advisers in Syria (IRNA)