Islamic Revolutionary Guards commander Seyyed Razi Mousavi was killed today in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, the Iranian government's Tasnim news agency has reported. The air attack has been attributed to Israel. According to the Syrian opposition Center for Human Rights the attack targeted two Hezbollah and pro-Iranian militia posts. The Iranian Ambassador in Damascus Hossein Akbari told the Iranian Mehr news agency that Mousavi's house was hit by three missiles. Mousavi had just returned home from a visit to the Iranian embassy.
Mousavi was a member of the Quds Force, which is responsible for the Revolutionary Guards activities outside of Iran. He was close to Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani who was assassinated in 2020. As part of his activities over the past few years, Mousavi has been responsible for the transfer of funds and logistics for Iranian militia soldiers.
In response Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said, "The Zionist regime will pay the price for the assassination."
Alongside the large Hezbollah forces deployed in Syria since the outbreak of the civil war, Mousavi was responsible for the activities of smaller militias like Fatemiyoun from Afghanistan and Zainabiyoun from Pakistan.
Israel has not taken responsibility for the killing of Mousavi who was responsible for bringing weapons to Syria from Iraq. A senior Iranian source has told the media that Israel had twice tried to assassinate Mousavi in the past.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 25, 2023.
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