The infamous status of the Iranian General who was just killed by an Israeli missile: 100,000 IRGC t
Mr. Zahedi's death is considered a strong blow to the IRGC, which could trigger fierce retaliation and bring a historic nightmare to Israel, similar to the scenario Tehran has for the US.
The identity of the Iranian General who just died
The attack - believed to have been carried out by Israel - on the Iranian consulate building in Syria killed General Mohammad Reza Zahedi - senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The information has been confirmed by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition to Mr. Zahedi, according to the New York Times, among the dead were 2 generals and 4 officers from the elite Quds force of the IRGC (Some other sources say that these 6 victims include 1 general and 5 IRGC officers)
Foreign Policy said that Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi is the commander of the IRGC's Quds force in Lebanon and Syria, and is also the highest-ranking Iranian general killed in alleged attacks carried out by Israel since September 1. October 7, 2023 (date Hamas launched attack on Israel) to present.
Counterterrorism expert Charles Lister at the Middle East Institute said: "Zahedi has great power. He is the person who directs everything that the IRGC in general and Quds in particular are doing in Syria, as well as in Lebanon during for many years, including Iran secretly transporting weapons to Hezbollah - the most powerful non-governmental organization in the world."
According to Foreign Policy, Mr. Zahedi's death is one of the biggest defeats for Iran's powerful IRGC force, since the US attack in early 2020 that killed General Qassem Suleimani - head of the Quds force at that time. then - died.
Israel suddenly fired a missile at the consulate, killing a senior Iranian general: Tehran vowed to retaliate, Russia and the US reacted Israel suddenly fired a missile at the consulate, killing a senior Iranian general: Tehran vowed to retaliate, Russia and the US reacted The Jerusalem Post added that, in addition to his role as commander of Unit 18000 of the Quds force, Mr. Zahedi is also Tehran's highest-ranking interlocutor with Hezbollah. Previously, he commanded the IRGC air force and the elite Imam Hussein division.
This newspaper cited "reports from Iran" that Mr. Zahedi was meeting with leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) at the time of the attack. However, these reports have not been independently verified. "The removal of Zahedi can be seen as a strong blow to the management and operation of Iran's missile attack groups targeting Israel" - Jpost commented.
For their part, Israeli officials accused the Iranian consulate building of being "an IRGC outpost, making it a legitimate military target" for attack. Mr. Ali Vaez from the International Crisis Group (a non-profit organization aimed at preventing war) said that targeting Iranian diplomatic facilities is no different from "targeting Iran on its own territory
100,000 IRGC troops are ready to retaliate
The Times of Israel said Iran has vowed to "retaliate fiercely" for this attack, and called for "the international community's response" to the air strike.
Iran reserves the right to take retaliatory measures and will decide on the form of retaliation, as well as punishment for the aggressor" - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani warned. According to Reuters news agency, the IRGC is an extremely formidable force of Iran with an estimated army of up to 125,000 people. The composition includes army, navy and air force units that operate independently of Iran's conventional armed forces.
Meanwhile, Quds is the IRGC's foreign intelligence and paramilitary force with a force of about 2,000-5,000 people, with great influence over Iran's proxy forces throughout the Middle East, from Lebanon to to Iraq, Yemen, Syria
Quds members have sided with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the country's civil war, and have supported Iraqi security forces in the fight against Islamic State militants in recent years. Notably, when Major General Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq in 2020, the IRGC vowed to retaliate, raising fears of a major conflict in the region .
According to Reuters, a senior IRGC commander then declared: "Killing all American leaders is not enough to avenge the assassination of General Soleimani." In January 2020, Iran announced that it was considering up to 13 scenarios of retaliation against the US for assassinating General Soleimani, of which the weakest scenario was still enough to bring Washington a "historic nightmare".
Therefore, if they decide to retaliate against Israel this time, the blow could be very fierce. Previously, the IRGC had conducted exercises many times, using simulated missiles to attack Israel, and declared that "it will win any war once it enters".
Asharg Al-Awaat newspaper said that the IRGC's immediate retaliation target could be Israel's Palmachim air base south of Tel Aviv, this is the main base where Israel is deploying the F-35 - a fighter model that has just been acquired. mobilized to conduct a missile attack against the Iranian consulate in Syria.
