Iranian Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to punish Israel following an air raid on Damascus, Syria that killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Drive.
Two IRGC generals, Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, have been among the many casualties in Monday’s assault on the Iranian consulate within the Syrian capital. The Iranian head of state addressed the incident in a speech to authorities officers on Wednesday.
“The cowardly efforts by the Zionist regime just like the one they carried out in Syria won’t save them from defeat. They’ll in fact obtain a slap within the face for this transfer,” Khamenei stated.
Khamenei provided no particulars about what Tehran’s response would possibly contain. When the US assassinated Quds Drive chief Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, Iran responded by raining ballistic missiles on American bases in neighboring Iraq, injuring over 100 US troopers.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Syria lately. On the uncommon events the Israeli authorities has acknowledged the assaults, it has described them as preemptive self-defense towards Iran. This week’s strike, which focused a consulate, has been broadly condemned as crossing the road.
Moscow denounced the strike as a breach of worldwide regulation, whereas the top of Russia’s International Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, described it as a terrorist assault dedicated by Israel.
Purported Israeli airstrikes look like singling out commanders of the Quds Drive, as a consequence of its assist for the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which has clashed with Israeli forces because the starting of the most recent battle in Gaza.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu declared warfare on Hamas after the lethal October 7 raids by the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group, which claimed the lives of an estimated 1,200 Israelis. West Jerusalem has additionally accused Tehran of serving to Hamas manage the assault, which Iran has denied.
Israeli atrocities in Gaza are “unprecedented in historical past,” Khamenei stated on Wednesday, including that even Westerners have been appalled by their sheer scale. Over 33,000 Palestinians have been killed over the previous six months, in keeping with the native authorities, whereas a lot of Gaza has been turned to rubble.
He added that this yr’s Quds Day demonstrations, which happen on the final Friday of Ramadan, can be “a world revolt towards the usurper Zionist regime,” mobilizing supporters of Palestine in each Muslim nations and elsewhere.
Al-Quds is the Arabic title for Jerusalem, which was initially partitioned by the 1949 armistice, however has been below Israeli management since 1967.
“We hope that our youth would see a day when the Holy Quds is managed by the Muslims they usually pray in it and the world of Islam celebrates the annihilation of the usurping regime,” Khamenei added.
