Israel Kills Top Iranian General In Syria: Report

Israel killed a top commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday in airstrikes carried out in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Iranian-state media said that Reza Mousawi, a high-ranking Iranian general, was killed in a strike on the Sayida Zeinab neighborhood. Israeli airstrikes in Syria earlier this month killed two other Iranian generals.

Reuters reported that Mousawi was responsible for coordinating Iran’s military alliance between Syria and Iran.

Israel did not comment on the strike, which is customary for their military.

“I won’t comment on foreign reports, these or others in the Middle East,” said IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. “The Israeli military obviously has a job to protect the security interests of Israel.”

Various Iranian officials and entities vowed to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Mousavi.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi responded to the strike by saying, “This act is a sign of the Zionist regime’s frustration and weakness in the region for which it will certainly pay the price.”

The IRGC said, “The usurper and savage Zionist regime will pay for this crime.”

“Iran reserves the right to take necessary measures to respond to this action at the appropriate time and place,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.

Joe Truzman, a research analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), noted the close relationship that Mousawi had with former IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani.

Soleimani, who was considered the second most powerful person in Iran, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2020 while traveling in Iraq. He was responsible for spreading Iran’s terror activities around the world and was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan