April 01, 2024
Today, at 17:00 local time, Israel bombed the Iranian embassy area in Damascus, Syria. It hit a building next to the embassy which is used for consular services as well as for accommodations for embassy staff.
The target of the attack was General Mohammad Reza Zahedi (Abou Mahdi Zahedi) of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp. He as well as other IRGC personnel were killed.
Zahedi was stationed in Damascus on invitation of the Syrian government. His responsibilities included the IRGC relations with friendly forces in Lebanon as well as Syria.
The attack can be seen as another attempt by the Israeli government to incite a war with Hizbullah on its northern border. The idea behind such a war is to escalate far enough to draw U.S. forces into the fight (and to leave it to them to clean up the mess).
I doubt that the IRGC or its allies will fall for this. Zahedi will be replaced and the resistance against Israel will continue as planned.
Israeli officials in embassies around the world will now be forced to limit their movements in the general public as they are the most likely targets of revenge strikes.
Posted by b on April 1, 2024 at 16:03 UTC | Permalink