Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi mourned on Monday the martyred Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) senior commander Seyyed Razi Mousavi hours after he was assassinated by an Israeli airstrike in Damascus, Syria.

The Iranian President pledged that the Israeli occupation would pay the price for their crime against the top IRGC advisor in Syria.

Raisi issued later in the day a statement extending his condolences to the Islamic Republic and its people, as well as Mousavi's comrades in the IRGC.

Razi, he said, was brave and courageous man who was among the companions of martyred Quds Force commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

President Raisi said the assassination of the top commander was a sign of frustration and weakness from the Israeli occupation before he underlined once again that the Israeli occupation would "definitely pay a price for its crime."

On his part, the spokesperson for the Iranian government, Ali Bahadori Jahromi, underlined that the Israeli occupation will pay a heavy price for the assassination of Mousavi.

In a related context, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian wrote on his account on X that martyr Razi Mousavi fought alongside martyr General Qasem Soleimani for several years for the security of Iran and the region, emphasizing that "Tel Aviv should expect a challenging, incremental response."

Additionally, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, condemned the assassination of Mousavi, affirming that this "terrorist act is another sign of the terrorist nature of the Zionist entity."

"This assassination is a continuation of all the crimes committed by the Zionist entity, violating all international laws and norms," Kanaani said, confirming that "Iran will retain the right to respond to this crime at the appropriate time and place."

The Iranian commander was martyred after the Israeli occupation launched three missiles at his position in the suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus, as reported by an Al Mayadeen correspondent.

He exerted exemplary efforts in the fight against ISIS in Syria during his lengthy participation in combatting terrorism throughout the West Asia region.

The Islamic Revolution's Guard Corps, commenting on the assassination of the martyr, said, "There is no doubt that the Israeli occupation entity will pay the price for this crime.

Moreover, an Israeli official said on Monday that the Israeli occupation forces are preparing for an Iranian response to Razi's martyrdom.

According to the Israeli official, Israeli intel prompted the occupation forces to be on alert and expect a response from Iran after it was found that the Israeli occupation was behind the assassination of a top IRGC official in Syria.

"The Israeli army is preparing for an Iranian response that might entail missile strikes from Syria and Lebanon," the Israeli official said.