Iran publicly threatened revenge against Israel on Saturday after the Israelis allegedly killed five members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a strike earlier that day in Syria’s capital of Damascus. Iran is a key sponsor of the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups, who have been battling Israel for months starting with the October 7 terror massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis by Hamas.
The alleged Israeli attack in Syria not only hurts Iran’s capabilities in Israel’s northern neighbor, but may have also been intended as a message to Iran and its allies as Iranian partners attack Israel from multiple directions. Now Iran has a message in return.
Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi said on Saturday that the missile strike in Syria “will not go unanswered” by Iran, according to comments published by the Fars News Agency. In a statement posted to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, spokesman Nasser Kanaani indicated Iran could retaliate militarily against Israel at any time. “Undoubtedly the blood of these valued martyrs will not be wasted and the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to respond in kind” to Israel “at the right time and place,” said the Iranian statement. The comments said this action is in addition to responding via “political, legal and international channels.”
A report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) noted the destroyed building in Damascus was owned by the IRGC and is in a neighborhood that has “leaders and commanders” of not only the IRGC, but also the Iran-sponsored Islamic Jihad terror group and Hezbollah. Among the dead Iranians were three “commanders” within the IRGC according to the SOHR report, with Iran’s Mehr News Agency citing an informed source who said one was a “high-ranking” IRGC intelligence officer in Syria, according to a Google Translate of the Farsi report. Iran has long used Syria as a forward base to support Hezbollah in Lebanon and even attack Israel directly, while also backing their allies in the Syrian regime.
Despite the various accusations of Israeli involvement, Israel did not openly claimed credit for Saturday’s attack—as is standard for strikes in Syria. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday made it clear that as his country faces Iranian-sponsored aggression from many directions, Israel will target enemies in Syria if necessary. “We are continuing the war on all fronts and in all sectors. We are not giving immunity to any terrorist: Not in Gaza, not in Lebanon, not in Syria and not anywhere,” said Netanyahu in comments published and translated into English by Israel. “Whoever tries to harm us, we will harm him.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, January 21, 2024)