With 6 missiles launched by F-35 fighter jets, Israel carried out a strike a couple of days ago that is considered one of the strongest in months against Iranian forces by targeting the Iranian consulate building in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus, resulting in the death of Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahdi, one of the leaders of the Quds Force in the Revolutionary Guard, and his deputy, along with 5 other members.
**Dozens of Assassinations**
However, this is not the first time; this strike is not new, as the Israeli army, along with its American ally, has previously bombed many "Iranian targets" in Syria and Iraq and has targeted numerous figures. Official Iranian reports highlighted a list of assassinations carried out by Israel in Syria targeting elements and leaders of the Revolutionary Guard since the Hamas attack on Israel, according to the government newspaper “Ettelaat.”
The report shows that Israel has assassinated 18 members of the Revolutionary Guard, including prominent military leaders, from December 2, 2023, to April 2, 2024. On December 2, 2023, Israel assassinated two members of the Quds Force, Brigadier General Bana Takizadeh and Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Attai, after targeting them in the capital, Damascus, during an airstrike.
On the 25th of the same month, Brigadier General Seyed Reza Mousavi, one of the prominent leaders of the Quds Force in Syria, was assassinated via a drone strike at his residence in the capital Damascus. On January 20, 2024, five members of the Quds Force were assassinated after their headquarters in Damascus was targeted, including Brigadier General Hojjatollah Omidvar, General Ali Nejad Agha Zadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, Saeed Karimi, and Mohammad Amin Samadi, with Brigadier General Hojjatollah Omidvar being the most notable, as he was responsible for Quds Force intelligence in Syria.
Additionally, Saeed Ali Dadi, a member of the Revolutionary Guard, was assassinated on February 2 following an Israeli airstrike in Damascus. Moreover, on March 1, another member of the Revolutionary Guard, named Reza Zarei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian city of Homs, and on March 26, Behrouz Vahidi, another member of the Quds Force, was assassinated during an air raid while in the city of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria.
Israel then attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, killing 7 Iranian advisors, including senior officers, namely Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahdi, Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Hajji Rahimi, Hossein Amanollahi, Mehdi Jalalati, Mohsen Sadakat, Ali Agha Babaei, and Abbas Salehi Rozbehani.
**Vital Theater**
It is worth mentioning that Israel has carried out 10 direct attacks on positions and individuals of the Quds Force in the Revolutionary Guard since the start of the war on Gaza. Israel executed 3 attacks on Damascus aimed at assassinating General Mohammad Saeed Izadi and other soldiers in the Quds Force, but those attacks were unsuccessful. Since the entry of Iran and its allies into Syria, the latter has become a vital theater for achieving the interests of both Tehran and Tel Aviv, with the former expanding its military and commercial activities, and the latter targeting Iranian objectives.
The Revolutionary Guard had announced on Monday evening the deaths of both Quds Force commander Mohammad Reza Zahdi and Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Hajji Rahimi, in addition to advisors Hossein Amanollahi, Mehdi Jalalati, Mohsen Sadakat, Ali Agha Babaei, and Seyed Ali Salehi Rozbehani, in the consulate strike.
