Iran Promises ‘Harsh’ Response After Apparent Israeli Strike Kills Top General
A top commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was killed Monday in an airstrike near the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, Iranian authorities and state media announced. They blamed Israel for the attack.
Mohammed Reza Zahedi, commander of the Iranian Quds Force, was said to be among a group of at least five Iranians killed in the blast, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. Israeli officials have not publicly addressed the strike.
The residence of the Iranian ambassador to Syria was “flattened” in the blast, Reuters reported, citing journalists at the scene. The Iranian ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, was not injured, but told reporters Monday that his countrymen were “targeted with six missiles from Israeli F-35 warplanes” and that Iran’s response would be “harsh.”