Reuters quoted news that on December 25, local time, Israel launched an airstrike on the area near Damascus, the capital of Syria, killing a senior adviser of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria. Iranian President Raisi vowed that Israel "will pay for this" and the foreign minister said that Israel "is facing a countdown." The Israeli side declined to comment on the matter.
Three security sources told Reuters that the senior adviser was Sayyed Razi Mousavi, who coordinates military cooperation between Syria and Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency (IRNA) reported that Mousavi is one of the oldest advisers to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria and had previously been "one of the people who accompanied Soleimani." Soleimani was a former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force and died on January 3, 2020, in an airstrike campaign ordered by then-US President Donald Trump.
Iran's ambassador to Syria said that Mousavi was killed on his way home from work on the afternoon of the 25th local time.
Mousavi, senior adviser to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, pictured from Iranian media IRNA
According to IRNA, late on the 25th, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a statement strongly condemning Israel's killing of Mousavi, calling his killing another example of "the terrorist nature of the Zionist regime". The statement stressed that Israel "will pay the price for this crime" and that "Iran reserves the right to take the necessary measures to respond at the appropriate time and place."
Iranian President Raisi expressed condolences over Mussevi's killing on the same day, vowing that Israel would pay the price for "frustration and weakness in the region." Al-Raisi said Mousavi died "as an adviser to the Front of Resistance, also known as the Arc of Resistance," defending Syrian holy sites and defending Islamic ideals, as a brave and fearless man, one of the companions of the assassinated General Soleimani.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has similarly said Israel will pay the price for killing Mousavi.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kanaani, picture from Iranian media IRNA
On the 25th, Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian tweeted that Mousavi was "Iran's counterterrorism adviser in Syria" and expressed his sincerest condolences to his family. "Mousavi fought valiantly with Soleimani for many years, ensuring the security of Iran and the region, fighting terrorists," he wrote. Tel Aviv is facing a difficult countdown. ”
The Israeli military declined to comment on the matter. In response to a reporter's question on the 25th, IDF spokesman Hagari said: "I will not comment on foreign reports...... The Israeli military clearly has a duty to protect Israel's security interests. ”
Screenshot of the Iranian Foreign Minister's tweet
According to Reuters, Iran has sent hundreds of soldiers to Syria as military advisers to help train and organize Syrian government forces since its internal affairs in 2011. For years, Israel has launched attacks on what it describes as Iranian-linked targets in Syria. Earlier this month, Iran said Israeli airstrikes had killed two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Mousavi is one of the oldest Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders in Syria and Lebanon and has been working in the region since the 80s, according to Al Jazeera.
"According to our sources, Israel has previously attempted to assassinate Mousavi on several occasions," Al Jazeera said, adding, "The Israelis have always considered Mousavi to be an important figure in the arms smuggling network from Iran to Syria, from Iraq to Syria, and finally to Allah Lebanon, and is also very influential in the 'Resistance Front'."
The Axis of Resistance, also known as the Arc of Resistance, includes Iranian, Syrian, and Lebanese Allah, as well as any anti-Western or anti-Israel militias in the region, with the common goal of countering U.S. and Israeli influence in the Middle East.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.