An airstrike reportedly conducted by Israeli forces struck a building adjacent to Iran’s embassy in Damascus, Syria, on Monday, resulting in the deaths of two senior members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Iranian state media.
The attack, a significant development in a region already strained by the conflict in Gaza, claimed the lives of senior commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hadi Haj Rahimi, along with five other officers, as per an IRGC statement.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Zahra Ershadi, asserted Iran's right under international law to respond decisively to such acts, in a letter to the U.N. secretary-general.
Israel's military, which usually does not confirm such strikes, declined to comment.
While Israel has conducted airstrikes in Syria against Iran and its allies for years, as well as during its recent military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, this attack stood out due to its location in a diplomatic compound, typically considered off-limits to hostilities, and because of the seniority of the apparent targets.
Zahedi had been identified as the head of Iran’s Quds Force in Lebanon in a 2010 Treasury Department sanctions announcement, which accused him of playing a key role in Iran’s support for Hezbollah.
Hezbollah mourned Zahedi as a martyr, vowing retribution.
As the head of the IRGC in the Levant, Zahedi oversaw operations in Syria and Lebanon, according to Iran analyst Arash Azizi.
The strike, which targeted a building owned by Iran and located next to the embassy, has been described as escalatory and unprecedented.
Images from Damascus showed a partially collapsed building, which housed Iran’s consulate, adjacent to the embassy.
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad condemned the attack as a terrorist act.
The strike in Damascus followed a drone attack in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, claimed by Iranian-aligned militants in Iraq. No injuries were reported in Eilat.
The IRGC, established after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, is a parallel security force reporting directly to Iran’s supreme leader, involved in expanding Iran’s influence in the region.
By operating through proxies, the IRGC projects Iranian power while maintaining a strategic distance from direct conflict.
However, as its allies escalate attacks in response to events in Gaza, such as Yemen's Houthis firing on ships and Hezbollah engaging in exchanges with Israel, the risk of wider conflict increases.
The recent attack, alongside previous strikes, has heightened tensions in the region.
Analysts fear that Iran's inability to deter Israel's repeated targeting of its commanders could lead to further escalation.