Iran claims that an Israeli attack in Syria results in the death of an Iranian commander

A senior Iranian military advisor, Seyyed Razi Mousavi, has been reportedly killed in an alleged Israeli strike in Syria. According to Iranian media, Mousavi was an experienced military advisor for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and was targeted in an airstrike in the Sayyida Zeinab area southeast of Damascus. Israel has been conducting military strikes in Syria for several years, aimed at Iran-linked targets. The frequency of these strikes has increased over the past months following an attack by Hamas on October 7. Iranian forces have been present in Syria since the early stages of the civil war, supporting President Bashar al-Assad's regime against rebel factions. Mousavi was believed to be an aide to IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by the US in 2020. Tasnim, a semi-official news agency, described him as one of the highest-ranking IRGC operatives in Syria, responsible for coordinating the relationship between Tehran and Damascus. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have vowed that Israel will "pay for this crime." The Israeli military, known for rarely commenting on cross-border strikes, has not yet responded to the incident. In a separate incident earlier this month, Iran accused Israel of killing two members of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria.