ANALYSIS – The heat is rising in the Middle East. Even as Joe Biden fails to deter Iran and its minions from launching over 100 attacks against ships and American bases, Israel appears to have just followed Donald Trump's 2020 playbook.
It launched a surgical strike and eliminated a top Iranian general in Syria.
And now Tehran is vowing revenge, saying Israel will “pay the price.”
The New York Post reported:
Seyed Razi Mousavi, an adviser in Iran's Revolutionary Guards [Corps – IRGC] who helped coordinate Tehran's ties with Syria, was killed by an Israeli missile in Sayyida Zeinab, a Damascus suburb not far from a Shiite shrine, IRNA, Iranian state media said…
“This act is a sign of the Zionist regime's frustration and weakness in the region for which it will certainly pay the price,” Iranian leader Ebrahim Raisi said…
According to the Hill: “The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli military targeted Mousavi after he entered a farm in the area, allegedly one of several offices for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.”
The outlet added: “Israeli strikes killed two other generals in Syria earlier this month. It has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years.”
Iranian officials described Mousavi as one of the most experienced Iranian officials in Syria and an ally of Qassem Soleimani, the head of the IRGC's infamous Quds Force, killed by the January 2020 strike ordered by Trump.
Barak Ravid, a reporter for Axios, said on X that: “An Israeli official tells me Mousavi was in charge of weapons shipments from Iran to the pro-Iranian militias in Syria and to Hezbollah.”
The Post added:
Mousavi's death marks a major escalation in Iran-Israel tensions, which have already been simmering over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Iran has long been accused of backing the Palestinian terror organization and other US-designated terrorist groups in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
While Israel generally refrains from taking credit for these targeted strikes, Iran International English posted the following:
Israeli Defense Minister @yoavgallant hinted on Tuesday that the country had retaliated in Iraq, Yemen and Iran for attacks carried out against it, one day after an Israeli missile strike killed the IRGC's top general in Syria Razi Mousavi.
“We are in a multi-front war and are coming under attack from seven theatres: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria (West Bank), Iraq, Yemen and Iran. We have already responded and taken action in six of these theatres,” he told lawmakers.
Ravid at Axios added on X that Israel expects Iran to strike back: “An Israeli official told me the IDF is preparing for an Iranian retaliation including rocket fire from Syria and Lebanon.” But Iran has been escalating its attacks for weeks.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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