Mohammed Reza Zahedi, the top commander in the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for Lebanon and Syria was assassinated in an air strike on Monday.
Zahedi is the highest-ranking Iranian killed since the current war started, even higher than Sayyed Reza Mousavi, who was killed in December, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Besides his wide-ranging responsibilities for terror on Israel’s borders, he was the highest-level interlocutor for Tehran with Hezbollah.
This means that although Israel has not taken credit, Iran and Hezbollah are already accusing Jerusalem of involvement since removing Zahedi could be seen as a blow to the management of the Lebanese terror groups’ rocket attacks on Israel.
Iranian press reported that Zahedi was meeting with leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad at the time of the strike, but these reports could not be independently verified.
Zahedi also commanded the Quds Force’s Unit 18000, responsible, among other things, for smuggling ammunition and precision weapons into Lebanon. He had also commanded the IRGC’s Air Force and Imam Hussein Division in the past.
Initial reports indicate that at least six people were killed in the strike, which targeted a building adjacent to the Iranian consulate, reported to be used as a military command center for the IRGC.
The Iranian Embassy in Syria said in a statement that “F-35 planes fired six missiles at the Iranian consulate in Damascus” and that “the exact number and names of those killed will be published following the clearing-out of the rubble.”
Iranian FM, embassy in Lebanon respond: “breach of all international conventions”
The Iranian Embassy in Lebanon responded with fury to the alleged strike, saying: “This barbaric Israeli aggression is a flagrant violation of international laws, diplomatic norms, and the requirements of the Vienna Convention.”
In a call with the Syrian foreign minister on Monday, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that Tehran holds Israel responsible for the consequences of the attack, Iran’s state media reported on Monday.
The strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus is “a breach of all international conventions,” Amirabdollahian added.
The strikes come less than a day after the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center in Jamraya, near Damascus, was hit in alleged Israeli airstrikes.
On Monday, the White House said it is aware of reports of the Israeli airstrike in Syria and would not comment if it views the strike as an escalation of tensions.
The State Department said it will wait for more information to draw conclusions but that they are worried about anything that would cause the conflict to expand or widen in any way.
Maariv Online and Hannah Sarisohn contributed to this developing story.
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