Iran vowed that Israel would "pay" for the killing of Sayyed Reza Mousavi, a senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in an alleged Israeli airstrike in the vicinity of the Syrian capital of Damascus on Monday.
"Undoubtedly, the usurper and savage Zionist regime will pay for this crime," Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in a statement read on state TV. "This action is another sign of frustration, helplessness, and inability of the occupying Zionist regime."
Local media outlets reported that explosions were heard in the area of Set Zaynab in the Damascus countryside.
Footage shared on social media showed a cloud of smoke near the Damascus International Airport, a site targeted frequently due to its use by Iranian proxies in the region.
#عاجل | قصـ ـف "إسرائيلي" استهدف منطقة الأهداف في محيط #دمشق على طريق مطار دمشق في #سوريا pic.twitter.com/DZ3ve1Qonx — قناة القدس (@livequds) December 25, 2023
The Iranian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Monday evening, warning that Tehran "reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place to the assassination" of Mousavi.
Tehran added that the suspected assassination "is a sinful and cowardly act and a sign of the terrorist nature of the Zionist regime." Hezbollah released a statement on Monday night mourning the death of the IRGC official, whom the Lebanese terrorist organization called "one of the best brothers who worked to support the Islamic resistance in Lebanon for decades." Advertisement Funeral of members of Iran's IRGC who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Syria, in Tehran (credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)
Top Iranian commander killed identified as Sayyed Razi Mousavi
Iranian state-owned media confirmed the death of IRGC commander Sayyed Razi Mousavi, identified as "a senior advisor" in Syria.
According to unconfirmed reports from Iranian opposition media, Mousavi was responsible for coordinating the of financing and transfer of logistics from Tehran to Iranian proxies in Syria.
The Israeli Air Force eliminated an Iranian commander who was identified as Seyed Razi Mousavi, Iranian state media confirmed. Mousavi was considered one of the closest IRGC commanders to Qassem Soleimani and the commander of Iranian forces in Syria. pic.twitter.com/0UhyqZuGIC — Charles Weber (@CWBOCA) December 25, 2023
Mousavi was considered to have been close to Qassem Soleimani , the former head of the Quds Force who was killed by a US drone in January 2020, according to Iranian media. Israeli media referenced Mousavi as the highest-profile targeted killing since Solemani.
No other casualties were reported in the alleged airstrike.