Iran Blames Israel, Promises Revenge for Guards’ Syria Deaths

Iran has openly accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike in Damascus that resulted in the death of five members of its Revolutionary Guards. In response to what he labeled a “cowardly assassination,” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi vowed retaliation.

This recent incident has escalated tensions, with Israel reportedly intensifying its strikes against high-ranking Iranian and allied figures in Syria and Lebanon, who support Hamas. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attributed the loss of its five members to Israel, their main regional adversary.

The attack, also denounced by Hamas as a “heinous crime,” took place in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus and reportedly killed ten people, as stated by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Iranian media identified one of the deceased as General Sadegh Omidzadeh, who was responsible for intelligence in Syria for the IRGC’s Quds Force, though there has been no official confirmation of his death. The Guards’ Sepah news agency revealed the names of four other victims as Hojatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, and Saeed Karimi.

Syrian state media reported the strike on a residential area in Mazzeh, with the defense ministry noting civilian casualties. Local residents described hearing the explosion and seeing a large cloud of smoke.

Israel, which has conducted numerous airstrikes in Syria during its civil war, primarily targeting Iranian-backed forces and Syrian army positions, did not comment on this particular incident. According to the Syrian Observatory, the targeted building housed leaders aligned with Iran.

The strike adds to a series of recent high-profile assassinations in the region. In December, a senior Iranian general in Syria was killed, and earlier in January, Hamas deputy Saleh al-Arouri and top Hezbollah commander Wissam Tawil were killed in Lebanon in strikes attributed to Israel.

Cross-border fire exchanges have been frequent since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war. Just days prior to the Damascus strike, the IRGC claimed an attack on an Israeli intelligence headquarters in Arbil, Iraq, resulting in civilian casualties.

Israel has consistently maintained its stance against allowing Iran to expand its influence in Syria, a country that has been embroiled in a devastating conflict since 2011, with over half a million lives lost and millions displaced.