Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi were among the seven officers killed. Photo: Emanuel (Manny) Fabian/Twitter
Experts called the attack an unprecedented and dangerous escalation that threatens to finally escalate Israel's six-month war with Hamas into a broader regional conflict.
Zahedi attended the meeting with his officers and members of the Islamic Jihad. According to one source, a group of Palestinian militants was in the compound at the time of the attack.
It was a “very, very rare opportunity” for Israel to kill some of its archrival's most senior commanders at once, an Israeli source quoted by Reuters said. “This is not something that a country at war would refuse.”
Kasra Aarabi, IRGC research director at United Against Nuclear Iran, said: “The fact that Israel was able to gather intelligence about a meeting between the IRGC high command in Syria… sends a very, very strong signal to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“It can strike wherever they are.”
Israel is believed to have carried out dozens of strikes on Iranian targets in Syria since Hamas, the Tehran-backed terrorist group, launched its brutal attack. October.
But this was by far the most important – both in terms of where the blow was struck and in terms of who it killed.
Zahedi oversaw IRGC operations in Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories and fought on the front lines alongside Hezbollah against Israel during the 2006 war, making him the highest-ranking commander killed since a US drone strike Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020. /p>
He was involved in the “planning and execution” of the Hamas attack on October 7, in which the terrorist group killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 200, according to a statement released this week by the Iranian hardline group.
Iranian Army Major General Haj Rahimi was killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike on the site of a meeting he was attending with seven other officials
Rahimi was the third-ranking commander of the IRGC and oversaw the entire Middle East, including coordinating the actions of Yemeni forces. Houthi rebels attack Western maritime targets in the Red Sea.
Both met regularly with Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, and played a crucial role in supplying Iranian-made missiles to the Tehran-backed Lebanese militant group. sources told The Telegraph.
Saeed Golkar, a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, said: “The deaths of these figures are a serious blow to IRGC affiliates in Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. We'll have to wait and see how quickly they can replace them.
“In the Islamic Republic, institutions, no matter their size, are marred by dependence on individuals.”
He added: “With the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and the looming possibility of its spread into northern Lebanon, the Islamic Republic and its associated factions militants now face the challenge of coordinating their operations in the region.”
But potentially even more important is how Iran responds.
Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), said the strike “represents a new moment.” dangerous escalation as the war in Gaza continues to reverberate across the region.”
There has been no shortage of threatening statements this week.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said Israel “will be punished” for the killings.
In a televised address on Friday, Hezbollah's Nasrallah said: “Rest assured that Iran's response to the attack on its Damascus consulate is inevitable.”
Thousands of Iranians took to the streets to mourn the loss of seven officials killed on Monday& Strike No. 39. Photo: ANADOLU
In Tehran, at the funeral of seven officials, where thousands of people chanted against Israel and the United States, General Hossein Salami, head of the IRGC, warned: “The Zionist regime cannot escape the consequences of the harm it has caused.
“It is exposed and knows perfectly well what will happen.”
But for most viewers it is not at all clear what will happen next.
p>The likelihood of Iran launching a direct attack on Israel is “extremely unlikely,” Mr. Golkar said.
“Given recent domestic protests, authorities know they are not very popular inside Iran and are concerned that any war could lead to regime change.”
Tehran is also operating at a lower capacity than it otherwise would. . Dozens of Israeli strikes over the past six months have killed many senior Iranian commanders and officials, including the head of IRGC intelligence in Syria.
This means the strikes are targeting suspected Israeli targets in neighboring countries – and not directly targeting Israel itself – may be the most likely option for Iran.
So Iran would have an answer “for internal propaganda purposes,” Mr. Golkar said.
In January, the IRGC did just that, firing ballistic missiles at a facility it claimed was Israeli. spy headquarters in northern Iraq and “anti-Iran terrorist groups” in Syria, but risks exist.
“Tehran wants to avoid being drawn into a wider war,” Mr Barnes-Dacey said.
“[But] it may feel forced to respond more forcefully to maintain the credibility of its regional containment policy,” he added.
Potential consequences
Iran also faces internal pressure to respond with sufficient force from the public and hard-line elements within the regime.
Wahid, a university student, said: “Israel attacked and killed a group of senior Iranian officials, but instead fight back, Khamenei and others were scared and started talking about the hijab instead,” referring to Khamenei's speech this week.
“He spent a full six minutes on the hijab and only forty seconds on Israel,” he added.
Iran has often used its proxy groups to sow discord in the region and threaten Israel through asymmetric warfare. in hopes of gaining the upper hand, and something like this is possible in the coming days and weeks.
The US is certainly concerned about the potential consequences. Washington has told Iran it had nothing to do with the latest strike and warned against attacks on American interests.
Israel has put itself on high alert, canceling furloughs for all combat troops and beefing up air defenses.
But how far Iran-backed factions in the region are willing to go on Tehran's behalf is another story.
Since war broke out last October, Hezbollah has exchanged low-altitude fire with Israel almost daily across the border. Nine civilians and 11 soldiers were killed in Israel, and about 240 Hezbollah fighters and 40 civilians were killed in Lebanon.
Nasrallah has so far shown little interest in further developments, especially since his last war with Israel in 2006 was devastating for both him and Lebanon, but this week's attack on the Iranian embassy may have changed the situation for leader of Hezbollah.
Speaking live on television on Friday, Nasrallah said the attack was a “turning point.” “.
Hezbollah “is not afraid of war and is fully prepared for any war” with Israel, he added.
Recent Comments