Tehran, Hezbollah vow ‘revenge’ against Israel after airstrike that killed Revolutionary Guard commander
Iran and Hezbollah, the country’s proxy group in Lebanon, have both vowed to take revenge against Israel following an airstrike in Syria that killed two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders and destroyed Tehran’s consulate building in Syria.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council met Monday following the airstrike that killed IRGC chief Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi — with officials deciding on a “required” response to the attack that state officials and media have attributed to Israel.
“We will make them regretful about the crime and similar acts,” said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the man who makes the final decisions in Iran.
Along with Khamenei’s ominous warning, the terror group Hezbollah has pledged to retaliate against Israel over the attack.
“This crime will certainly not pass without the enemy receiving punishment and revenge,” Hezbollah officials said in a statement.
Despite the allegations coming from Iran and Syria, Israel has not claimed responsibility for the airstrike.
The IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, also attempted to claim that America, Israel’s closest ally, is responsible for the deaths.
The US National Security Council said America played no role in the attack and did not know about the airstrike ahead of time.
Zahedi and Hajriahimi were with five other IRGC officers and one Hezbollah operative when the consulate building they were in at the Syrian capital, Damascus, was blown to bits by an airstrike.
Zahedi had been sanctioned in 2010 for serving as a liaison with Hezbollah terrorists and smuggling weapons into Lebanon.
Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous said Tuesday that first responders are still searching for bodies at the site of the destroyed consulate building.
Since the Oct. 7 terror attack, the Jewish state has been carrying out an intermittent bombardment campaign against Hezbollah and the IRGC.
The 22-state Arab League has also blamed Israel for the airstrike, claiming the Jewish state aims to “expand the war [in Gaza] and push the region to chaos.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, however, said Israel has been focusing its efforts to suppress the Iran-backed militant groups in Gaza and Lebanon, warning that any group that attacks the Jewish state will see severe retaliation.
“We operate everywhere, every day, in order to prevent our enemies from gaining strength and in order to make it clear to anyone who acts against us — all over the Middle East — that the price for action against Israel will be a heavy one,” said Gallant, speaking to the Israeli parliament’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly every day since the war in Gaza began, with thousands of civilians evacuated from northern Israel and southern Lebanon due to the fighting.
The fighting along the northern front has stoked fears in the West that the war in Gaza will spread across the Middle East as Iran-backed militants continue to engage against the Jewish state and its allies.
With Post wires
