A senior leader of Iran's murderous Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was taken out by what was reportedly an Israeli airstrike on a building near the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, Monday. The successful broad-daylight hit was first reported by state media in Syria, with later confirmation from Iranian media that senior IRGC leader Muhammed Reza Zahedi and a few others had been taken out in the strike.
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) noted that "Zahedi was most recently believed to be serving as chief of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon — a role that would have made him a top coordinator between Tehran and Hezbollah."
FDD also pointed to comments last week from Yoav Gallant, Israel's defense minister, in which he announced a shift in Israel's strategy toward Iran-backed Hezbollah. "We are turning from pushing back [Hezbollah] to hunting it," Gallant said of the terrorists. "Everywhere Hezbollah is found, we reach," he continued, "and it is also true for much more distant places like Damascus and beyond. Everywhere we need to act, we will act."
NEW: Israel conducted a rare daytime strike in the vicinity of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, according to Syrian state media.
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) April 1, 2024
"The precision and daring of this operation cannot be overstated," observed Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of FDD. "Israel is reaching a decision point on its northern front, where Hezbollah’s lethal provocations have become unbearable," he noted. "Taking out a top-tier figure in the hostile axis that runs from Tehran through Damascus to Beirut is an effective way of getting the enemy to focus on what’s at stake."
Indeed.
Whoever or whatever was targeted adjacent to the Iranian embassy in the Mazzeh neighborhood of Damascus serves as a stark Israeli warning to Tehran regarding its nefarious activities against the Jewish state. pic.twitter.com/s9c5S1i9VU
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) April 1, 2024
While the Biden admin hesitated to take serious action against Iran in response to its militias injuring and killing U.S. soldiers in the region, today, Israel carried out a strike, eliminating senior IRGC officials responsible for promoting terrorism against the Jewish state. pic.twitter.com/z3IrU8o9nV
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) April 1, 2024
Richard Goldberg, FDD's senior advisor, emphasized that “Iran and Hezbollah are seeking to normalize a permanent war on Israel’s northern border," but "Israel is not going to allow that to happen. The IRGC operates in Syria in close coordination with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah," Goldberg reminded. "Israel’s actions in Syria, like Lebanon, are taken in self-defense."
Iranian media acknowledges that an Israeli airstrike in Damascus killed IRGC official Muhammed Reza Zahedi. pic.twitter.com/bhFuKhEzH2
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) April 1, 2024
As Fox News Channel's Jennifer Griffin noted, taking out Zahedi is a significant loss for the IRGC and Tehran's efforts to coordinate with its terror proxies to attack Israeli and other western targets — coming close to the gravity of then-President Trump authorizing the strike that killed then-IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani as his vehicle traveled through Baghdad.
This is the near equivalent of the Qassem Soleimani targeted killing carried out by the US on Jan 3, 2020. https://t.co/5RcZ69eMWq
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) April 1, 2024
In the wake of the strike in Damascus, the Israeli government reportedly stepped up its security posture at diplomatic outposts worldwide in anticipation of a potential retaliatory strike.
This is a developing story and may be updated.