Updated 4/1/24 at 6:00 pm EST
On Monday, an Israeli airstrike leveled an Iranian consulate building that’s next to the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus, marking a significant escalation in Israeli attacks on Iranians in the region.
At least seven people were killed in the strike, including Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iran has confirmed the death of Zahedi, who oversaw the IRGC’s Quds Force operations in Syria and Lebanon and is vowing a harsh response.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani Tehran will “decide on the type of response and punishment against the aggressor.” According to AP, the IRGC said the strike also killed Zahedi’s deputy and five other Iranian officers.
The bombing of the diplomatic facility comes a few days after Israel launched some of its heaviest airstrikes in Syria that reportedly killed 52 people, including Syrian soldiers and members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Israel has also killed multiple members of the IRGC since it ramped up airstrikes in Syria after October 7.
The strikes targeting Iranians risk a direct response from Iran or an escalation from Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border. Israel has also been launching airstrikes deep inside Lebanon against Hezbollah, although many recent strikes have killed civilians.
Israel appears to be trying to provoke a major regional war in hopes that the US would get directly involved. US officials have acknowledged to the media that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might view a full-blown war in Lebanon as key to his political survival. A regional war would also take attention and scrutiny away from Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.