Iran Vows Revenge After Suspected Israeli Airstrike Killed IRGC Commanders

The Islamic Republic has pledged to retaliate against suspected Israeli airstrikes that killed several members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Damascus on Monday. 

At least seven members of the IRGC, including two senior commanders, died in the attack.

Islamic Republic Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, condemned the attack.

Iran, he said, has the right to retaliate and will determine the appropriate form of response and "punishment for the aggressor."

The attack, Nasser Kanaani said, is a "violation of international regulations."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, while reserving its rights to take countermeasures, decides on the type of reaction and punishment of the aggressor," Kanaani said. 

Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said: “We consider this aggression to have violated all diplomatic norms and international treaties."

“Benjamin Netanyahu has completely lost his mental balance due to the successive failures in Gaza and his failure to achieve his Zionist goals," he added. 

Iran’s ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, said Iran’s response for the strike would be “at the same magnitude and harshness.

Iran reported that at least five advisers of the IRGC were killed alongside Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Zahedi’s deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi. 

Zahedi played a central role in the supply of Iranian-made missiles to Hezbollah and had been subject to US sanctions as early as 2010.

Previously, Zahedi had served as the head of Iran’s air force and ground forces, and played a significant role in quelling the Iranian protests in 2019.

Hossein Akbari, the Iranian ambassador to Syria, emerged unharmed from the recent airstrike, believed to be the fifth Israeli assault on Syrian targets within five days.

Iran's network of proxies in the region, known as "the axis of resistance," has engaged in skirmishes with Israel and launched attacks on US forces and bases across the Middle East since October.

These actions have heightened concerns of a broader regional conflict.

However, Tehran has recently attempted to reduce tensions with Washington following a drone attack on a US military base on the Jordanian-Syrian border in January, which resulted in the deaths of three American troops.

Senior US and Iranian officials engaged in indirect talks in January, and both sides have demonstrated efforts to de-escalate hostilities.