Raisi: Israeli attack on consulate in Syria will 'not go unanswered'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen
2 Apr 2024 12:16
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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called the Israeli aggression against the Iranian consulate in Syria's Damascus a "new terrorist crime" and vowed retaliation.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a commemoration for the late IRGC martyr Gen. Qassem Soleimani at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, January 3, 2024. (AP)

The Iranian Supreme National Security Council, chaired by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, convened last night and announced the adoption of necessary decisions in response to "another war crime committed by Israel."

Today, in the first announcement following the meeting, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called the Israeli aggression against the Iranian consulate in Syria's Damascus, a "new terrorist crime" and considered it a "violation of international resolutions."

Raisi also stressed that "the Zionists must know that they will not achieve their goals" reaffirming that the "crime of attacking the consulate in Damascus will not go unanswered."

Moreover, Raisi paid tribute to the martyrs, highlighting that "Martyrs Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi were heroes of the Holy Defense," and had been serving in Syria as "senior consultants".

Who is IRGC commander martyr Mohammad Reza Zahedi?

Brigadier General martyr Mohammad Reza Zahedi was the leader of the IRGC's Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon; the Quds Force is concerned with advancing the Palestinian cause and liberation in the region.

He was born in 1960 and joined the IRGC in 1980, less than a year after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Being one of the most prominent leaders of the Quds Force, Martyr Zahedi was the Deputy Chief of IRGC operations. He also took positions as the leader of both the IRGC's Air Force from 2005 to 2006 and the Ground Force from 2006 to 2008.

The Brigadier General also led a battalion and an elite force in the IRGC during the Iraq-Iran war and the war on Syria.

After 44 years of serving the IRGC and assisting liberation movements across the region, Zahedi was assassinated by Israeli occupation forces after they launched six missiles at the Consular Section of the Embassy, via stealth F-35 fighter jets.

The Israeli occupation has assassinated a number of IRGC advisors and personnel in Syria, following the outbreak of its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. The IRGC has been a long-term supporter of the Palestinian Resistance and other liberation movements in the region.

Although Iran has had no direct involvement in supporting attacks on the Israeli occupation in the past six months, the Israeli military command has made Iran's Armed Forces a main target of its assassination campaigns.