A high-ranking Iranian general was killed in an airstrike in Syria on Monday, and Iran has pointed a finger at Israel in response. Iran accused the country of being behind the death of Brig. Gen. Sayyed Razi Mousavi on a farm near Damascus. Mousavi, who advised Iran's Revolutionary Guards, is thought to have had a role in outfitting Hezbollah with weapons, including missiles, and was said to be one of most senior Revolutionary Guards members in Syria. Reuters reports Iran's ambassador in Syria told reporters that Mousavi was stationed at the embassy as a diplomat and died in an Israeli missile strike after returning home from work.
The BBC reports Israel has gone after what it describes as Iran-associated targets in Syria for years, and even more so since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The AP reports Mousavi's death "comes amid ongoing fears of the Israel-Hamas war sparking a regional spillover." The New York Times reports Israel "adopt[ed] its customary stance" in not directly responding to Iran's allegation. But it quotes Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as saying Tuesday that the country is waging "a multifront war" and "coming under attack from seven theaters": Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran. "We have already responded and taken action in six of these theaters," he said.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in a statement that Mousavi was "martyred while serving as an adviser for the resistance front, defending holy shrines in Syria as well as safeguarding Islamic ideals." He promised that the "Israeli regime will definitely pay for this crime." Mousavi was said to have worked closely with Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020. (More Iran stories.)
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