Alleged Israeli Airstrike Takes Out Iranian General Zahedi in Damascus

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 airstrike on Monday, along with his lieutenant and about five other officers, the IRGC said that night.

Zahedi is the highest-ranking Iranian killed since the current war started, even higher than Sayyed Reza Mousavi, killed in December, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Reuters reporters at the site in the Mezzeh district of Damascus saw emergency workers clambering atop the rubble of a destroyed building inside the diplomatic compound, adjacent to the main embassy building. Emergency vehicles were parked outside. An Iranian flag hung from a pole in front of the debris.

The Syrian foreign minister and interior minister were both spotted at the scene. Initial reports indicated that at least six people were killed in the strike, which targeted the building adjacent to the Iranian consulate, reported to be used as a military command center for the IRGC. Syrian state media said at least six people were killed and several more were injured. These reports could not be verified by press time.

Besides his wide-ranging responsibilities for terror on Israel’s borders, Zahedi was the highest-level interlocutor for Tehran with Hezbollah.

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 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.Israel has long targeted Iranian military installations and those of its proxies in Syria and has ramped up those strikes in parallel with its campaign against Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Monday’s attack was the first time the vast embassy compound itself had been hit.

Israel typically does not comment on attacks by its forces on Syria. Asked about the strike, an Israeli military spokesperson said: “We do not comment on reports in the foreign media.”

Get More of our proprietary news and analysis as MoneyCentral is now on WhatsApp Channels  Follow the MoneyCentral Nigeria channel on WhatsApp: Click here!