Iran declared on Saturday that it “reserves the right to respond” after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the death of Syria’s spy chief and three others in an Israeli strike targeting a residential building in Damascus.
The Israeli strike in the Mazzeh neighborhood resulted in the death of 10 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani stated that Tehran would retaliate “at the appropriate time and place” and condemned what it called “an escalation in aggressive and provocative attacks” by Israel, its arch-foe.
In recent weeks, Israel has faced accusations of increasing strikes on senior Iranian and allied figures in Syria and Lebanon, raising concerns about the potential expansion of the conflict beyond the Israeli war on Gaza.
According to Iran’s Mehr news agency, the IRGC’s Syria intel chief, his deputy, and two other members were martyred in the Israeli strike. The IRGC identified the deceased as Hojatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, and Saeed Karimi.
The mid-morning strike, which caused a significant plume of smoke, was confirmed by Syrian state media. SANA, the official news agency, reported that a residential building in Damascus’ Mazzeh neighborhood was targeted in what it described as “an Israeli aggression.” The Syrian defense ministry added that the strike resulted in the death of “a number of civilians.”
