Three Senior IRGC Generals Killed In Damascus Airstrike
Iranian state-linked media reports that three senior generals of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been killed in an airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus.
The Tasnim news agency identified one of the deceased as Brigadier General Mohammed Reza Zahedi, the top commander in the IRGC’s Quds Force for operations in Lebanon and Syria. Prior to leading the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria, Zahedi had commanded the IRGC’s air force, and the Imam Hussein Brigade.
Also said to be among those killed are Gen. Hossein Aminullah, Quds Force Chief of General Staff for Lebanon and Syria, as well as Maj. Gen. Haj Rahimi, Zahedi’s deputy.
The airstrike completely destroyed the embassy’s consular building, which also served as the Iranian ambassador’s residence. Both the Syrian and Iranian governments have accused Israel of being responsible for the airstrike, with the Syrian defense ministry claiming that Israeli F-35s were used. Tehran has threatened revenge on Israel following the strikes.
The Israel Defence Forces has declined comment, saying that it does not comment on foreign media reports. In a press conference later on Monday, United States State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that Washington was aware of the airstrike, but declined to speak “specifically” on the airstrike before “confirmation either of the target or the responsible party” was obtained.
While the Israeli government rarely acknowledges its airstrikes on IRGC targets and facilities in Syria, the pace of airstrikes in Syria attributed to the Israeli Air Force have significantly heightened following the start of its war with Hamas in October 2023.
Despite this, daylight airstrikes have remained rare occurrences seemingly reserved for high value targets, such as the December 2023 airstrike that killed Brigadier General Razi Mousavi. Mousavi was previously the most senior IRGC officer in Syria known to have been killed by suspected Israeli action, having been one of the IRGC’s most senior advisors to Bashar al-Assad’s government at the time of his death.