In a recent development, Iranian state media has reported that an Israeli airstrike in a Damascus neighborhood has resulted in the death of a high-ranking Iranian general. The slain general has been identified as Seyed Razi Mousavi, a prominent advisor of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard stationed in Syria. This incident comes at a time when tensions between Hezbollah and Israel along the Lebanon-Israel border are escalating, raising concerns about a potential regional conflict involving Iran-backed groups.
According to reports, the Israeli airstrike targeted the Sayida Zeinab neighborhood, which is situated near a revered Shiite Muslim shrine. Iranian news agency IRNA and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based opposition war monitor, have both confirmed the incident. IRNA has described Mousavi as a close associate of the late Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the former head of Iran's elite Quds Force who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq earlier this year.
As of now, neither the Israeli military nor Syrian state media have released any official statements regarding the attack. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that Mousavi was targeted by the Israeli military while he was present on a farm in the area, which allegedly served as one of several offices for Hezbollah. Throughout the Syrian conflict, Hezbollah, alongside Iran and Russia, has played a crucial role in supporting President Bashar Assad's government.
It is worth noting that Israel has conducted numerous airstrikes in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years. While the Israeli military rarely acknowledges these strikes, it has consistently maintained that its actions are aimed at Iranian-backed groups supporting the Syrian government under Assad's leadership.
The killing of a high-ranking Iranian general in Syria by an Israeli airstrike is a significant development that could have far-reaching consequences. As tensions continue to rise in the region, it remains to be seen how Iran and its allies will respond to this incident and whether it will further escalate the already volatile situation.