Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned Israel that they will take “direct” action to avenge the killing of senior commander Razi Moussavi. Moussavi was killed in an Israeli missile strike near the Syrian capital on Monday, heightening regional tensions around the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The Israeli army, which has launched hundreds of strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria, said it does not comment on foreign media reports.
The body of Moussavi was taken to Iraq for funeral rites before being buried in Iran. The IRGC spokesman Ramezan Sharif warned that the response to Moussavi’s assassination would be a combination of direct action by the Axis of Resistance.
The Gaza war has drawn in armed groups backed by Iran, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran’s involvement in Yemen and Iraq, with Iran supporting Hamas financially and militarily but denying any direct involvement.
Mourners in Iraq attended memorial prayers for Moussavi, whose coffin was taken to the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, chanting anti-American sentiments. Moussavi’s death was described as the latest of the Israeli “enemy’s list of crimes” by Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, Mohammed al-Sadiq.
