TEHRAN: Iran on Saturday again threatened retaliation for the killing of seven Revolutionary Guards in an Israeli strike on Damascus, with the Iranian army chief saying his country’s enemies will “regret” the killings and threatening to exact “maximum damage.”
Tehran vowed to avenge Monday’s air strike on the Syrian capital it blamed on Israel.
The air strikes flattened the Iranian embassy’s consular annex in Damascus, killing seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members including two generals.
Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri said, “Iran’s response will be carried out at the right time, with the necessary precision and planning, and with maximum damage to the enemy so that they regret their action.”
Bagheri was speaking at a ceremony in the central city of Isfahan to commemorate Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Zahedi was one of the two brigadier generals from the Quds Force who were killed in the Israeli strike.
Zahedi, 63, was believed to be the Quds Force commander for the Palestinian Territories, Syria and Lebanon.
He had held several commands during a career spanning more than 40 years, and was the most senior Iranian soldier killed since a United States missile strike at Baghdad airport in 2020 killed Quds Force chief General Qassem Soleimani.
On Saturday, crowds at the gathering in Isfahan chanted “Down with Israel!” and “Down with the United States!”
