A senior Iranian military commander was reportedly killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike in Syria on Monday. The U.S. Treasury Department had sanctioned Mohammad Reza Zahedi in 2010, citing his key role in supporting Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist organization. Zahedi, a senior leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, was responsible for ensuring weapons shipments to Hezbollah and acting as a liaison to Hezbollah and Syrian intelligence services.
The U.S. National Counterterrorism Center describes the IRGC-QF as one of Iran's primary organizations for conducting covert lethal activities outside of Iran, including terrorist operations. The IRGC-QF targets U.S., Israeli, Saudi, and UAE interests, as well as Iranian dissident groups. Zahedi's death occurred in an alleged Israeli airstrike that hit the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, according to a Lebanese security source.
While Israel has not confirmed its involvement in the attack, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that their team is investigating the incident. Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, suggested that Zahedi played a critical role in connecting Iran's IRGC Quds Force with the Assad regime in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Zahedi, who gained military experience in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, held positions such as the head of IRGC Air Force and commander of Iran's IRGC Ground Forces. Iranian media outlets report that Zahedi served as the chief Quds Force official in Syria and Lebanon from the late 2000s to the late 2010s. Taleblu emphasized the strategic importance of Zahedi's role in bridging Iran with its allies in the region.
