Iran threatens Israel with retaliation
Senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard killed in Damascus
January 20, 2024, 4:35 p.m
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Iran and Syria are enemies of Israel. The country repeatedly defends itself with rockets. Now Israeli bullets are said to have hit the Syrian capital Damascus and killed several members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
According to Iranian sources, several members of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) were killed in an air strike in the Syrian capital Damascus. The Iranian news agency Mehr reported, with reference to informed circles, that the intelligence chief of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, his deputy and two other members were killed. Iran blamed Israel for the attack and vowed to retaliate “at the right time and in the right place.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani condemned “the criminal act of the Zionist regime in the strongest possible terms,” calling it a “desperate attempt to spread instability and insecurity in the region.”
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least six people were killed in the suspected Israeli attack. There is also said to be a civilian among them. At least four other people are still missing, it said. The four-story building that was attacked was completely destroyed. According to the activists, there was a meeting of officials loyal to Iran there. The Israeli military did not initially comment.
The Syrian state news agency Sana’s report said the attack was “the result of Israeli aggression.” Pictures on social media showed a destroyed house on the side of the road. 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’s air force repeatedly bombs targets in neighboring Syria. Israel wants to prevent its arch-enemy Iran and its allied militias from expanding their military influence in the country. Iran is one of Syria’s most important allies. Israeli attacks have increased since the Gaza war began in early October. When asked, the Israeli military said it would not comment on reports from foreign media.
The situation in the region has been extremely tense since the Gaza war broke out as a result of the Islamist Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7th, which left 1,200 dead. A few days ago, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired rockets from their own territory into Iraq, Syria and Pakistan for the first time since the start of the war in retaliation for terrorist attacks and the killing of a general in Syria.
Israel already killed General
At the end of December, Iranian General Sejed-Rasi Mousavi, a senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), was killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike in a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus.
Experts and observers believe that the world is currently experiencing a dangerous shadow conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran. Shortly after the terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas on October 7th, its leadership praised the attack as an act of resistance, but vehemently rejected any direct involvement.