Iran warns Israel ‘will pay the price’ after Tehran claims IDF airstrike killed top Revolutionary Guard commander
An Israeli airstrike in Syria took out a top Iranian commander Monday, prompting Iran to ominously warn Israel that it will “pay the price,” according to Tehran’s state media.
Seyed Razi Mousavi, an adviser in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards who helped coordinate Tehran’s ties with Syria, was killed by an Israeli missile in Sayyida Zeinab, a Damascus suburb not far from a Shiite shrine, IRNA, Iranian state media said.
Iran vowed to retaliate.
“This act is a sign of the Zionist regime’s frustration and weakness in the region for which it will certainly pay the price,” Iranian leader Ebrahim Raisi said, according to a Reuters translation.
Tehran described Mousavi as one of the most experienced Iranian officials in Syria.
Video circulated social media purportedly showing the airstrike.
State media also described Mousavi as an ally of Qassem Soleimani, the deceased head of the IRGC’s infamous Quds Force.
Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike in Iraq in early 2020 after a spate of clashes between the two nations.
Mousavi’s death marks a major escalation in Iran-Israel tensions, which have already been simmering over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Iran has long been accused of backing the Palestinian terror organization and other US-designated terrorist groups in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
Since the war in Israel erupted in October, there have been fears that it could be a powder keg that spills over into a broader regional war.
Mousavi is believed to have already been targeted by Israeli assassination attempts in the past, sources told Al Zajeera.
Iran also accused Israel of killing two IRGC personnell in Syria earlier this month.
Israel typically does not take responsibility for attacks against Iranian targets in Syria and has been largely mum about its role in Mousavi’s alleged death.
But the Israeli Defense Force is preparing for Iranian retaliation, according to Axios.
